


Foxfire ~Sabaku no Gaara love story

by 1RavenBlack



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-04 00:31:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15830079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1RavenBlack/pseuds/1RavenBlack
Summary: Come along and join the story of a little fox trying to find her way out of the despair of the shinobi life, trying to pursue happiness and peace, along her friends and loved ones.





	1. A Little Fox

 

Today is finally the day I get assigned a proper Team to work it and needless to say, I'm so excited! I was only 8 years old when I graduated the Ninja Academy and since then, I was allowed to be taught by a Jonin everything that I should know for my standard age and more. This, thankfully, ensured that I could accompany any team of Genins that would be assigned any kind of C-level missions _(although I managed to sneak into a B-leveled one as well, thanks to Gai-sensei who fell the easiest to my 'kit eyes', much to Kakashi-senpai's amusement.)_

And so, after Iruka-sensei told me about the team arrangements the Hokage did, I was to be teamed up with Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, for Team 7. What was bizarre, however, was the fact that he wouldn't disclose the name of the Jonin attending us. I suppose it would make for a fine surprise?

Fastening my black forehead protector to my arm, I walk inside the room where all the other Genins were awaiting ~~ _(not so)_~~ patiently for their sensei to arrive. Seeing my favourite person just sitting there, sleeping, I walk to sit next to him, open a bag of crisps, take one, and offer the whole bag to Choji, while I was floating the crisp in Shikamaru's face, trying to wake him up with a gentle voice.  


**Me: Good morning, Shika~! Guess who's back with -**  
**Choji: BRAND NEW CRISPS! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH, KITSUNE! *nom nom***  
  
  
Shikamaru jumped in his seat, yelping at the sudden noise done by his friend and with an annoyed expression, he turned to Choji, trying to reprimand him. Choji only laughed and pointed in my direction, which made the lazy boy turn on the other side, only to get wide-eyed realising it was me.  


**Shika: Yo, Kitsune, long time no see! What are you doing here, I thought you were already far ahead of us.**  
**Me: *shrugs* I've only been doing solo training for the past 5 years, but they never let me join a team until now, despite all my protests. I think they had something special in mind, after all?**  
 **Shika: Keh. Wouldn't surprise me, really. These higher-ups are such a drag with their plans...**  


But just as he said that, Asuma-sensei came in the room and called for his team, the famous Ino-Shika-Cho waiting to train yet another generation.  
Doing a mock military salute, I get up and sit between Hinata and Kiba, putting my arms around their shoulders.  


**Me: Did you miss me?**  
**Hinata: K-Kitsu-chan, I'm so happy t-to see you!**  
 **Kiba: Yeahh, it's been a while, eh? Akamaru missed you!**  
 **Me: Ah...! Poor baby! Him and Kasai should totally meet again soon. Let's set a meeting -**  


But before I could finish my sentence, Kurenai-sensei came in the room and called for their team, leaving only my own team to deal with.  
Gai, Asuma, Kurenai all have a team...So who is our Team's Jonin? Could it possibly be _him_...?

Naruto got his head out of the room, looking left and right for out teacher, complaining how he's extremely late and Sakura started arguing with him. Sasuke, as usual, was silent as a lake.  
Proving no surprise at all coming from the blond, he set the table eraser as a prank for our teacher, giggling like a school girl, the pinkette was trying to act tough in front of her crush, but it was slightly obvious that she was looking forward to the prank outcome. Only Sasuke scoffed unfazed, explaining how a Jonin wouldn't ever fall for something so puerile and see-through.  
I could only sit on the desk with my legs crossed, smirking at them, already sensing an approaching figure.  
As soon as he put his hand on the sliding door to enter, the room fell deadly quiet, all eyes on the mysterious person -  
And the eraser fell on his silver, gravity-defying hair, making Naruto laugh like a monkey in victory, Sakura trying to apologise like a prude, clearly excited at the outcome, while Sasuke was more or less questioning Kakashi-senpai's skills.  
  
Once again, I could only grin widely at the situation at hand, evidently more than happy at the choice of teacher and once again ready to be on the field.  
Kakashi stared at us with his usual bored expression, holding the eraser.  


**Kakashi: Well, my first impression of you guys...I hate you.**  
**Me: Wouldn't blame ya~.**  
 **Kakashi: Ah, and what a surprise, there's a fox sneaking around us. And I didn't mean you, Kitsune.**  
 **Me: Wait wha-**  
 **Kakashi: Kasai was done with her waiting outside the Academy, so I let her in.**  


Saying that, he left the room, allowing my lovely fox baby to jump into my arms as she started purring and rubbing her little head on my cheek, showing affection. Sakura yeeped, already seeing stars and hearts in her eyes seeing us and she approached us, looking a bit shy.  


**Sakura: Can I touch her? You look so adorable together-...It's like you're sister! Twins, really!**  
**Me: *laughs* Thank you, Sakura! It was a great surprise when I found her in the forest too. I think Kurenai mentioned the same thing that day. But hey, I guess I can gloat a bit and say that my bond with Kasai is much more obvious than Kiba's with Akamaru. *winks***  
 **Sakura: Ahhh, that's SO cool!**  
 **Naruto: Ne! Ne! So this is your fox? It's so cool! I want a fox too!**  
 **Me: Then start looking for one! They don't grow in trees, y'know? They just sleep under them. *smirks* Anyways, let's go on the rooftop, Kakashi-senpai's waiting for us there.**  
 **Naruto: LET'S GO, DATTEBAYO!**  
 **Sakura: Hell yes!**  


We all ran upstairs and sit on on the stairs as Kakashi leans on the railing. Sakura sat between me and Sasuke, with one hand scratching Kasai's ears, while the other was held tight into a fist in her lap, trying not to be so obvious in her fangirling.  


**Kakashi: Why don't you introduce yourselves?**  
**Sakura: But what should we say?**  
 **Kakashi: Eh...What you like, hate, your dreams and hobbies...Or something like that.**  
 **Naruto: Why don't you introduce yourself first, Sensei?**  
 **Me: Not the worst idea today.**  
 **Kakashi: Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intentions of telling you my likes or dislikes. As for my dreams...I have a few hobbies.**  
 **Me: And that was the most tear-strucking speech I've ever heard. Thank you for the insight, senpai.**

 

I tried not to laugh at him, so done with life, just wanting to return to his perverted books, yet not being allowed to, just now.  
  
  
**Sakura: So...All we found out was his name.  
Me: Honestly, that's more than I expected.  
Kakashi: Now it's your turn. You first.  
Naruto: I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like cup ramen, but I like the ramen from Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei bought me even more! I hate the 3 minutes I have to wait after I put the hot water. My hobby is to eat and compare cup ramens and my dream is to become greater than the Hokage! I'm going to make all the village recognise my existence!  
Me: Inspiring.  
Kakashi: Okay. Next.  
Sakura: I'm Haruno Sakura! I like...Well, the person I like is...*blushing, looking at Sasuke* And my hobby is......And my dream is...*fangirling*  
Me: At least they both have something in common. Compulsively obsessing over one thing.  
Kakashi: Seems that way. So what do you hate?  
Sakura: Naruto!  
me: *sigh* That's...Not a great start.  
Kakashi: Next.**  
**Me: Third time's the charm, they say, right? My name is Kitsune, I like foxes, reading and training, I dislike -...Um...*looking away* Nevermind that. My dream is...*mumbles* Peace, I guess. *shrugs*  
Kakashi: And it only took two words to shut you up. I should remember that.  
Me: Rude.**  
**Kakashi: Good. Last guy.**  
**Sasuke: My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things that I hate and there aren't a lot of things that I like. Also, I have an ambition that I have no intention to leave as just a dream. The revival of my clan and....To kill a certain man.**  
  
   
So it is true...Sasuke loathes Itachi more than anything else in the world. It only makes me wonder if maybe there was something much greater at stake that we don't know of that had the man act the way he did.   
Without a few skeptics in this world, it would be positively dull.  


**Me: Ah, what a fascinating Team, huh? We have...Ramen, Love, Foxes, Revenges and...Reading as the five main themes. We can't get bored in a group chat, then, can we?  
Kakashi: *sighs* Just...Give up with that. Alright, you 4 all have different personalities. I like that.  
Me: Can we add that to your list of likes?  
Kakashi: *silence*  
Me: I guess not...  
Kakashi: We're going to begin a mission starting tomorrow.  
Naruto: What kind of mission is that, sir?  
Kakashi: First, we're going to do something that we 5 can do.  
Naruto: What, what, what, what is it?  
Me: Oh shit.  
Kakashi: Survival training.  
Naruto: Survival training?  
me: Fun!  
Sakura: Why are we going to train when we're on a mission? We had plenty of training while in the Academy.  
me: Nobody ever stops training, Sakura. Otherwise, you can't get stronger, right? Besides, it can't be just any ordinary Academy training, right?  
Kakashi: Correct as usual, Kitsune. That is no ordinary training.  
Naruto: Then what kind of training is it?  
Kakashi:*chuckling*  
Me: I don't like that sound.   
Sakura: Hey, what's so funny, sensei?  
Kakashi: Well, if I say this, I'm sure you 4 are going to be surprised.  
Me: Try me.  
Kakashi: Out of all 28 graduates, only 10 are going to become Genin. The other 18 will be sent back into Academy. In other words, this is going to be a very hard test with a dropout rate of 66%.  
me: Ohh, that sounds sexy! Survival of the fittest!  
Kakashi: See! At least 3 of you are surprised!  
Naruto: No way! I went through all this trouble...Then what was the final exam for?  
me: Clearly, to pick the ones who express any ounce of potential. After all, not everyone can be a ninja. That'd just be pathetic and mundane.  
Kakashi: Exactly~!  
Naruto: WHAAAAAAAT?  
Kakashi: Anyways, I'm going to determine whether or not you pass at the training grounds tomorrow. Bring your ninja equipment and meet at 5 AM sharp! Now then, meeting over. Oh yeah, don't eat breakfast. You're going to throw up if you do.**    
**Me: Roger that~!**  


I sniggered at my teammates' reactions, a sly smirk plastered on my face as I looked deep into Kakashi's eyes. After he left, I Look back at them, flipping my hair in a condescending manner, letting my fox companion down on the ground.  


**Me: I honestly hope you're not truly considering going at that Ungodly hour, especially without eating anything. It's clearly unhealthy and stupid.**  
 **Sakura: But sensei said-**  
 **Me: *shrugs* Do as you wish. Think of it this way, if you don't do what I suggested, you will be the first to arrive and see whether or not I was right. On the other hand, if I am wrong, there is one free spot for you. *winks* Laters~!**  
 **Naruto: KITSUNE!! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO DEFY SENSEI'S ORDERS?**  
 **Me: See for yourself tomorrow.**  


For the rest of the day and all the way until midnight I continuously trained in the forest, just to make sure I'm not getting rusty. After all, it would be a real shame if I were to disappoint senpai.

After a good night's rest and an ever better breakfast, it was suddenly 10 in the morning, so I ran to the field, seeing my teammates dead tired on the ground.  
I guess they didn't listen to my advice.  


**Me: Morning, peeps! Lovely day, innit?**  
 **Sakura: You were right...**  
 **Me: *shrugs* I could have been wrong as well. It's always better to listen to your intuition anyways.**  
 **Naruto: Did you bring any food?**  
 **Me: Should I have? Oh...Neither of you actually ate, huh? *sighs* How pitiful.**  


Not long after, we see Kakashi slowly walk towards us, and with a lame excuse, he started the mission, which basically had to do with us taking the 3 bells, which were tied to his kunai holder on the back of his waist. Sakura's question of why there were only 3 bells clearly shook everyone around me, but I had to maintain my facade, otherwise he might actually suspect a true attack.

After they argue a bit about whether or not to attack him with the true intent to kill, Senpai taunted Naruto until he put him back in his place, moving faster than the speed of light, and as he yelled our start, we all spread in different directions.

First, I went to the most powerful in our team, Sasuke, trying to persuade him to work as a whole team with the rest, but he mumbled stuff about his petty revenge and jumped away, saying he had to do everything on his own, otherwise he wouldn't be able to kill Itachi.  
Sakura was the next obvious choice, but she refused since her crush answered the same and she tried persuading him.  
After Naruto lost the fight against Kakashi, as he was once again reading Icha Icha Paradise, then used the Thousand Years of Pain to make him fly into the water.

By the end of those three's petty separate attempts, I once again tried to ask them to join me, dispelling Sakura's Genjutsu, getting Sasuke out of the carrot hole and tying the rope hoisting Naruto on a tree, but to no avail.  
Sighing in annoyance, I jump in front of Kakashi, impaling my katana on the ground and leaning on the handle, pouting.  


**Me: Why did the Hokage want so badly to get me into a team that doesn't want to cooperate? It's ridiculous! Now, how am I supposed to complete a teamwork mission with the evident lack of a team?**  
**Kakashi: *chuckles* I was hoping you'd be successful in your own friendly attempt to fortify Team 7. What a pity.**  
 **Me: Maybe if all  4 of us were to attack together, we could have at least touched you. Gah...But you know what? You, Senpai, are also a part of Team 7, so as long as one of us, the 5 members of Team 7 holds the bells, then the missions is a success, correct?**  
 **Kakashi: Hmmm...I like how you think, Kitsune. But I clearly specified one of you must get the bells from me, otherwise the mission fails.**  
 **Me: But I'm sure you care about teamwork more than a petty mission, right?**  
 **Kakashi: True, but this is how you see if they deserve it. Besides, you knew my antics and you didn't sha-**  
 **Me: I actually did, but they chose obvious precaution.**  
 **Kakashi: That's too bad, then.**  
 **Me: You don't want to accept such an obvious loophole...Clearly, you see potential in us and you want us to succeed, somehow. Well, fine, be that wa-...Wait, what? Are those 3...together? Ah, so they finally heard you confess to the mission's true meaning!**  
 **Kakashi: Ah-...They really are there? What did you do?**  
 **Me: Saved them from your traps, I guess?**  
  
  
As he turned around to dodged the 3's simultaneous attacks, I dispelled the 3 Kage Bunshins just as they got next to him, made Kasai get the bells from him, made her run back to the forest as I threw a heavy fire attack on him with my katana, which he blocked with his arm quite easily.  


**Kakashi: Unpredictable as a fox. Your name truly suits you in more than appearance, after all.**  
**Me: *smirks* As if you didn't know, Senpai~.**  
  
  
But our fight was stopped by the clock, so I quickly shrugged, unfazed, sheathed my katana on my back, my hands behind my head, telling Kakashi to return to the meeting place, where he tied Naruto to a log for attempting to steal the food.  


**Kakashi: Oh? Your stomachs are growling, huh? Ah, by the way, about the results of this training, none of you need to return to the Ninja Academy.  
Sakura: Huh? But all I did was faint. Is that okay?  
Naruto:Does that mean we 4...  
Kakashi:Yeah...The 4 of you...Should quit being a ninja!**  
**Me: Ah, before you say that...**  
**Sakura: *gasps* Sensei! The bells! You don't have them anymore-**  
 **Kakashi: *wide eyes* Huh? Kitsune, what did you do?**  
 **Me: You said you wanted teamwork, right? I showed you teamwork. Maybe my human companions were unwilling to help, but my dear fox kin was more than happy to help.**  


As I whistle-called her back, she started running in our direction, handing me the 3 bells and licking my face, as I kept snuggling and playing with her with one hand, while the other was holding the bells up, victoriously.  


**Me: You see, Kakashi, Team 7 managed to get the bells just like you instructed. You didn't want to accept my loophole, so fine, more work for me, but in the end, the result was what was important, despite seeking the means to achieve it as far more important.**  
  
  
Naruto yelled in shock and glee at what he just heard, taking it a sign of _**"YOU PASSED!"**_ , while Sakura was yeeping just as excited and Sasuke looked annoyed, since he couldn't do that himself.  
  
  
**Kakashi: Sometimes, you truly piss me off with your antics, Kitsune, but the truth is, I cannot deny what you said was true, which makes it even worse. I can't even...*sighs* The rest of you truly don't deserve to be ninjas. You should just quit. You are still just immature kids.**  


Irked out of his mind, Sasuke charged at Kakashi with killing intent, but clearly, he was pinned down in  the blink of an eye, the latter comfortably staying on the younger one's back.  


**Me: Bad move, kiddo.**  
**Sakura: Don't step on Sasuke-kun!**  
 **Kakashi: Do you think being a ninja is easy? The only one who understood why we are training in teams is Kitsune, because she actually uses that brain in her head.**  
 **Sakura: What do you mean?**  
 **Naruto: Of course she knew the answer! She was already training higher than us! It was cheating!**  
 **Kakashi: It's anything but cheating. In other words, you 3 truly don't understand the meaning of this test.**  
 **Naruto: Answer?**  
 **Kakashi: That's right. The answer to determinate whether you pass or fail...**  
 **Sakura: We've been asking what that is...**  
 **me: Honestly, what's so difficult to understand?! I've been trying to tell you the answer the whole day!**  
 **Naruto: SO WHAT ABOUT 3 or 4 PEOPLE BEING IN A GROUP?**  
 **Me+Kakashi:TEAMWORK!**  
 **Sakura: You mean cooperate with each other?**  
 **Me: Why else would every mission involve more than two ninjas paired up together? Just for the numbers?**  
 **Naruto: Uh...Safety in numbers?**  
 **Me: *eye twitch* THERE'S NO SAFE IN NUMBERS, YOU DAMN IDIOT!**  
 **Kakashi: Calm down, Kitsune. Yes, Sakura, you had to cooperate, otherwise Kitsune wouldn't have gone to all of you, asking you to join the teamwork. Truth be told, I wasn't surprised that she got the bells. I knew she wouldn't listen to a word I said yesterday and would try anything she could to achieve success. But you declined the winning side and yet, there she is, sharing the completion of the mission with dunderheads like you. If all of you would have charged at me at the same time, you could have gotten at least 1 bell. But that's too bad.**  
 **Sakura: But even so! Why do we need to use teamwork when there's only 3 bells? Even if all 4 of us work together, there is one who is left over! A group conflict will appear instead of teamwork!**  
 **Kakashi: That's right and Kitsune answered to that question just moments ago! This test makes you go against each other. In this test we prioritise those who put teamwork before themselves. That was the purpose, but you 3 were pathetic.**  
 **Me: *sighs* It all sounds fine, in the end, but you cannot deny that in a real situation, things would be much different. After all here there was no potential death or war threat, so it was not...Well...**  
 **Kakashi: That's exactly so. Sakura! You cared more about Sasuke than Naruto or Kitsune, even though they were right in front of you and you didn't know where Sasuke was. Naruto! All you did was work on your own and you assumed that this 2 would only burden you and did everything yourself. Kitsune!...You did good. Your manipulation techniques are getting significantly better. I didn't realise I turned to look at the obvious fakes until I had already done so. One more step and you could have sliced me dead.**  
 **Me: Now, now, Kakashi...Let's not get ahead of ourselves...You know better than anyone else that I put little to no value in today's...Everything, really.**  
 **Kakashi: I noticed your mind was constantly drifting in other places, but you have to forget of what happened. It's only going to get worse.**  
 **Me: I am aware. *nods***  
 **Kakashi: Back to the subject. Missions are done in groups.It's true that ninjas need well-developed abilities, but is teamwork that is much more important. An individual action that disrupts teamwork can result to danger or even the death of a comrade. For example...SAKURA! Kill Kitsune or Sasuke dies!**  
 **Me: Th-That...! Kakashi!**  
**Kakashi: That will happen.**  
 **Sakura: Oh...You surprised me...**  
 **Kakashi: In fact, it was exactly what happened in Kitsune's last mission.**  
 **Me: KAKASHI! THAT'S ENOUGH!**  
 **Sakura: And...What happened...?**  
 **Kakashi: How would you answer to that, Kitsune?**  
 **Me: ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! *exhales* Besides, in a real situation, no idiot would kill their safe partner for the one already under serious threat, since there is no guarantee that they won't both die, and themselves next, left vulnerable.**  
 **Naruto: W...Woaw...**  
 **Kakashi: After getting someone hostage you will face a difficult situation and someone will die. In every mission you put your life in the line. Look at this. The numerous names carved in the stone. All those names are praised in this village.**  
 **Naruto: I like that! I like that!**  
 **Me: Oh, do you, really?**  
 **Naruto: I've decided to have my name carved into that!!**  
 **me: ...Why...Would you...?**  
 **Naruto: Who wouldn't?! A hero! A hero! I'm not going to die an useless death!**  
 **Kakashi: But they aren't normal heroes.**  
 **Naruto: So what kind of heroes were they?**  
 **Me: Naruto...**  
 **Naruto: Come on!T ell me!**  
 **Kakashi: Those were K.I.A.**  
 **Naruto: K.I.A?**  
 **me: Killed In Action...**  
**Naruto: Oh...**  
 **Kakashi: It is a cenotaph. The name of my friends are carved there.**  
 **Me: *sighs* Indeed...**  
 **Kakashi: I will give you one more chance. However the battle for the bell will be much harsher after lunch. Eat lunch only if you're up to a challenge. But don't let Naruto eat.**  
 **me:*sigh* I'm seriously debating whether or not you are bipolar.**  
 **Kakashi: Who knows? Fine then. Naruto, this is punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat lunch early. Anyone who feeds him will fail immediately. I'm the rule here, got it?**  
**Me: *scoffs* Pathetic...**  


As I muttered that, he poofed away, leaving us in complete silence, making Naruto's stomach growl echo through the forest.  


**Naruto: I'm okay even if I don't eat! Don't worry!**  
**Me: *sighs* Anyone who listens to a word he says is an idiot. _'I'm the rule here!'_ he says. Ha! Don't make me laugh. **  
 **Sakura: You were right before...I think I will trust your instincts until I develop mine, Kitsune! Here, Naruto, take my lunch. I'm on a diet, after all.**  
 **Me: *smirks* How cute, do I see a kouhai here? Fine, little pink kouhai, take my lunch as well, then. You haven't eaten since...?**  
 **Sakura: *mutters* Last lunch...**  
 **Me: Should have known.**  
 **Sasuke: Hmpf. Fine then. Take this.**  
 **Sakura: S-Sasuke-kun?**  
 **Sasuke: I don't sense him anyway nearby. He said teamwork. Can't let this idiot slow me down.**  
 **Sakura: So cool...!**

 

As the two started feeding blond idiot, Kakashi returned in a stormy cloud, trying to appear pissed off, but instead, after the 3 of us defended the blondie, saying we were a team, he grinned and said that we all passed.  


**Kakashi: You 4 are the first to pass. All the others were blockheads who only listened to what I said. Ninjas have to think beyond normal. In the world of ninja those who break the rules are scum, but those who don't care of their friends are even worse scum.**

  
I high-fived Sakura, while Naruto was on the verge of crying of how cool Kakashi is and Sasuke just smirked in pride.   
  
**Kakashi: The training ends here. Everyone passes! Team 7 will start doing missions starting tomorrow! Let's go home now.**  
**Me: Well, that was entertaining. See ya next time, kids!**

  
And with that, I saluted my team, walking home with my fox, beaming in satisfaction as what I was able to achieve today.   
After all...It's not every day you get to bond with your team and make new friends, right~?


	2. Fire and Water Don't Mix

These days have been filled with lots of fun seeing how Kakashi was an extremely good teacher and I learnt that training as a team is actually great and can prove to be much more efficient, in some ways.  
The only difference is that I didn't bother with D-level missions...I already told Senpai that if I see that blasted cat and her even worse owner, I'd go insane.

As I wrapped up a fairly easy delivery mission, where I surprisingly got to meet one of my favourite people in this world, I ran back to the Hokage's office to return the reply scroll and get my next assignment.  
To my amusement, however, my Team was also there for their next mission, but Naruto seemed to be sulking, angry, while Kakashi was trying to make him shut up.  


**Me: What's going on? Have I missed something?  
Hokage: It seems that Naruto here thinks he's outgrown the normal Genin missions.  
Me: Ah...Let me guess, he had to deal with that cat too, huh?  
Naruto: FORGET THE CAT! I'M DONE DOING OTHERS' CHORES WHEN I DON'T EVEN DO MY OWN!  
Me: *chuckles* He's got a point, you know. Hey, let's look at the bright side, if you give them a C-level mission they will handle it. Kakashi-senpai is perfectly capable of handling them, and if I'm allowed, I can join too. I think a break from these missions would be welcomed, after all. *grins*  
Kakashi: Why are you making my job harder than it is?  
Me: Just think of it as strengthening the bonds between our teammates, senpai!  
Sakura: That sounds persuading! I like it!  
Kakashi: *sighs* What am I going to do with you...**  
**Hokage: Very well. If you insist, I will allow you on a C-ranked mission. It's to escort a certain person.**  
**Naruto: Really? *high-fiving me* Who? Who? A Daimyio? A Princess?**  
 **Me: I sure haven't seen a Princess in a while...**  
 **Hokage: Don't get so hasty. I'll introduce him now. Can you please come in now?**  


On the complete opposite spectrum to maybe everyone's expectations, instead of a stunning maiden, an old, cranky man came into the room, glaring at us. Such manners...

  
**Old Man: What? They're only kids! *drinking more* Hey, is the smallest one with the idiotic face even a ninja?**  
**Naruto: *laughing* Who is the little one with the stupid face?**  
 **Me: That...Would be you.**  
 **Naruto:*realising* I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!**  
 **Kakashi: Don't kill the man you're supposed to escort, baka!**  
 **Old man: I'm the bridge-builder expert Tazuna.**  


Sighing at his terrible speech, we packed our necessities and went outside the village to start our mission. Needless to say, Naruto was extremely cheery, saying how he never got out of Konoha.

  
**Me: Well, you sure have a lot to explore. The other Countries are gorgeous as well...But take my word for it, nothing compares to Konohagakure and the Country of Fire in general.  
Kakashi: I have to agree with that one.  
Naruto: WHAAAA-?! YOU'VE BEEN OUT OF THE VILLAGE BEFORE?!**  
**Me: Why is it so surprising? It was a B-mission I just finished. *shrugs* But easier ones are so much better to relax and make easy money.**  
**Naruto: So coooool! Teach me! Teach me!**

  
Unfortunately, his excitement was obliterated by the pissy old man who started insulting the young blond, saying he wasn't even a real ninja and whatever.

  
**Me: Well, as far as I remember, in order to become a Genin in Kirigakure....Well...The ones who graduated the Academy had to fight and kill each other, only the survivors being granted that title.**  
**Sakura: Wh-What...? So cruel...**  
 **Me: *looks up* It was efficient. By their standards, a ninja must only be loyal to his village and complete the missions assigned at all costs. There is no such thing as room for emotions. Those...Only get you killed, after all.**  
 **Kakashi: That was the old way of becoming a Genin, but things have changed, recently. They retorted to more humane methods.**  
 **Me: Yes, but following that idea, it's clear that our client still lives in those times, going by his philosophy about a shinobi's worth. Makes you wonder who's right and who's wrong, if there ever is such an answer...**  
 **Naruto: That's stupid! Stupid, I'm telling ya! And by the time I become Hokage, I-**  
  
  
But I didn't want to hear any more yelling, so sighing, I put my arm around his neck and drag him in front of the group, telling him about my travelling missions and the beauty of Iwagakure.  
On our way there, however, I noticed Tazuna visibly worrying after Sakura exclaimed happily that there will be no ninja fights, but I stopped abruptly in my tracks as I noticed a water puddle, glanced at Kakashi, who blinked in approval, then continued our walk, on our guard.

I may have been away on a mission, but it hasn't rained in the Country of Fire in at least a week.  
Just as I thought that, a loud clink was heard as 2 ninjas appeared out of that puddle, throwing their spiky chains around Kakashi, tearing him apart. As everyone started yelling, the enemies went behind Naruto, to attack him, but Sasuke threw a shuriken in their chain, blocking it in the tree behind them, then pinned it better with a kunai in the hole.  
  
They couldn't budge, until the Uchiha jumped on their arms, kicking their face really hard.  
Then, they ran again to attack Naruto and Tazuna, making Sakura panic but quickly grabbed her kunai to protect the old man.  
As the 2 enemies attacked, I messily attached my chakra strings to them, then made them fly and collide into each other, so hard that one of them lost consciousness.   
I smirked in victory, stepping on the neck of the still awake one, glaring and asking him what was his business with us.  
Kakashi then appeared like a macho show off, shocking everyone...Kinda.  


**Kakashi: Naruto, sorry for not helping out right away. I got you hurt. I didn't think you wouldn't be able to move. Anyways, Sasuke, good job. You too, Sakura. Kitsune, where did you learn that?**  
**Me: Why, Senpai, I think it's more important to know why were we being specifically targeted, or rather, our CLIENT, when this is supposed to be barely a C-mission? Also, these guys are Kirigakure ninjas, so they must be using poison. Naruto, we need to get rid of the poison right away.**  
 **Kakashi: Of course. Tazuna-san, we need to talk. These guys are only Chunin from Kirigakure. They are known to fight no matter the cost.**  
 **Ninja: How did you detect us?**  
 **Me: Haven't seen puddles in sunny days. Especially if it hasn't rained in...A week?**  
 **Kakashi: *nods* About that.**  
 **Tazuna: Why did you let the kids fight if you knew that already?**  
 **Kakashi: If it were me, I could have killed these 2 in the blink of an eye, but I had to know who they were targeting.**  
 **Me: I mean, you could have killed one and interrogate the other~. *winks***  
 **Tazuna: What do you mean?**  
 **Kakashi: As Kitsune stated...Why were you being targeted by ninjas? The request was to protect you from armed gangs or robberies. This is now above a B-level.**  
 **Me: *sighs* You people have no chill.**  
 **Kakashi: The mission was to guard you until you completed building the bridge. If ninja are our enemy, this mission would have been an expensive B-rank one.**  
 **Me: So...You were broke? That's why you deceived us. But is it worth the risk?**  
 **Sakura: This mission is out of our league...Plus, we need anaesthesia to take out the poisoned blood out of Naruto, too.**

  
But Kakashi taunted Naruto a bit so he would stop cowering, making him stab his hand to take out the poison, then did a characteristic inspirational speech, urging us to continue the mission, but Kakashi mentioned how he'd die of blood loss soon if he doesn't stop the bleeding, so he freaked out.

Facepalming, I mutter that I'd heal his hand with the little medical jutsu that I practised, but to my surprise, the wound was already almost healed, so I just wiped the blood away, bandaging him, looking at Kakashi who seemed to already know the reason.  
  
Reassuring the silly boy that everything will be okay, we continued our way towards the destination, and went via boat there. Kakashi pressured Tazuna to tell us the real details of the mission, otherwise he'd call it off ashore, so the old man complied and told us everything, mentioning one of the richest men, Gato, being after him, hiring ninjas to kill him to prevent the building of the bridge. The odds weren't exactly in our favour, the way I see it, but there is not much to do but continue ahead. ~~_(ignoring the guilt trip that was pissing us off)._~~

The Land of Waves wasn't bad looking, fairly speaking, but it was no jewel either.   
Walking again on the ground, through the forest, we notice Naruto getting all freaky, throwing a kunai in a random direction, then proudly said it was just a knife.  
I suddenly winced, detecting a new chakra and I kept looking around, trying to detect it since it was just a on and off speck, until I finally sensed he stopped walking and I slowly put my hands on a kunai, throwing it in his direction.  
At the same time, the attacker threw his sword at us, in a rotating decapitating manner, but Kakashi made sure everyone was safe. On the other side, where the blade stuck on a tree, there he stood, the enemy, playing with the kunai I threw, glaring at us.

  
**Me: Everyone, stand back, now!**  
 **Zabuza: Nice throw, missy. You clearly noticed my presence faster than the rest of the dunderheads.**  
 **Kakashi: Oh, my, my, you are the exiled ninja of Kirigakure, Momochi Zabuza.**  


But as he said that, Naruto started darting in Zabuza's direction, until I tripped him, grabbing him by the collar and throwing him back to the rest.

  
**Me: He's vastly superior to the other ones we just encountered. Stand. Back.**  
**Kakashi: So should you, Kitsune.**  
 **Me: I'm not letting you fight someone like him on your own!**  
 **Zabuza: I'm guessing You are Kakashi, the Sharingan user. And you...You must be one of the Kasai clan. What a pity such a powerful clan should extinguish with your death.**  
 **Me: Wh-What...?**  
 **Zabuza: I see you don't know your heritage. Hand over the old geezer and I might tell you a little secret about your family.**  
 **Me: Kakashi, what's he saying?!**  
 **Kakashi: Don't listen to him. Everyone, stand back and protect Tazuna-san. I will fight him.**  
 **Me: Kakashi-...!**  
 **Kakashi: If the worst happens, you can interfere, but don't get reckless.**  
 **Me: ...Fine.**

  
Raising his forehead protector, he revealed his Sharingan eye, starting a whole discussion on what the Sharingan is and how Kakashi copied more than 1000 jutsus, making him be high in the Bingo Book.

  
**Me: Guys, beware of the mist. Kirigakure ninjas use silent assassinations and poison to kill.  
Zabuza: Not bad, kid. But this is much better.**

  
He went to stand on the water, embedding a load of chakra, making himself get concealed in a thick mist. As the fog got thicker and thicker and we couldn't even see the hand in front of us, his voice started ringing around us, in a menacing manner, enumerating the 8 ways to silently kill someone. Kakashi then used his chakra to make the mist disappear, but the intent to kill was overwhelming Sasuke to such an extent that senpai had to reassure him not to kill himself.

As he said that, a dark _**"It is over"**_ was heard, and I spun around, impaling the Water Clone Zabuza which teleported itself between Tazuna and the kids, with my katana. The clone groaned as it dissipated into water droplets, when the real Zabuza was actually behind Kakashi, the former severing the latter in 2, not realising that Kakashi was actually a Water Clone, managing to have copied his technique even with such a blinding mist surrounding us.

The real Kakashi managed to put his kunai at Zabuza's throat, copying the **_"It is over"_** part his enemy used prior. Of course, the enemy chuckled lowly, taunting Kakashi for using cheap imitations, this one being a Clone too, and the real Zabuza actually fighting Kakashi, kicking him away, as the kids remarked the amazing skills Zabuza has.  
In that time, as Kakashi was in the water, the enemy trapped him in a hydro-prison, creating a clone to fight us.

  
**Me: I see that you're eager to fight me. Any real reason?**  
 **Kakashi: Don't fight him! Just run!**  
 **Me: I can't leave you there!**  
 **Zabuza: Sentimentalism isn't going to save your team, Kasai girl. You either fight and win, or die, and with you, the others as well.**  
 **Me: That is right. Kakashi, even if we run, you will have no way of escaping that hydro-prison by yourself, and what's more, the clone will easily chase us down, killing our client. That is counter-productive in any way you look at it.**  
 **Zabuza: *chuckles* Kasai, Kasai, they've always been known for their wit, yet nobody managed to see them fight and live to tell the tale.**  
 **Me: Why do you know more about my family than I do? Or better, why do you know my clan, when even I don't?!**  
 **Zabuza: *smirks* Just like many other ancient, powerful clans, you all have the same characteristics, including that tattoo on your arm. Kasai, uncontrollable fire, just like the symbol inked into your skin. The ancient clan of the Fire Foxes. And now, it is going to perish!**

  
After he attacked Naruto, who was the one closer to him, he got his forehead protector, stepping on it, taunting us for being just kids and not real ninjas. I stepped back, muttering slowly to Sasuke a plan I had so that they could apply it while I'm fighting the clone, distracting him, and as he nodded, I ready my katana, biting my lip.

He charged at me with unusual strength, making me put my leg back for more support as I parried his blow. Then, I poofed behind him, then on his left, back to his right, as fast as I could, in order to confuse him, but he saw easily through the strategy and struck in the direction of the next poof. Thankfully enough, I managed to parry that as well.  
  
I jumped back, doing some fast hand seals, but the only elemental jutsus I could do were Fire ones, which only worked in my disadvantage, his water-style being my counter.  
As I kept throwing wired kunais to the trees, forming a web around him, I lit it on fire, incendiating him - Fire that he easily extinguished, but it created a great smoke around us, earning me a second to charge at him and kick him in the chest, making him fly in the tree behind him, making it fall down, taking the other wires with him.

As the smoke flew away, the clone stood there, next to the tree, chuckling darkly, glaring at me with a glint of satisfaction.

  
**Zabuza: Even with the lesser element, you still managed something those your age wouldn't accomplish. Congratulations, you rise above the corpses of those you killed, like a true Genin from Kirigakure. You made your clan proud, but now, you have to die!**

  
I could see the killing intent in his eyes as he disappeared from our sight- I stayed guarded, with my katana in a protective way, but to everyone's shock, he appeared in front of me, kicking my sword, making me fly and break a few trees on my way down, as a great revenge for what I did to him.  
I was dizzy beyond belief, trying to get back on my feet as I coughed blood, walking slowly towards them, gripping on my broken sword arm, but what made me snap was when Naruto attacked him, out of his own volition, just to get the forehead protector back.

I could feel absolute rage surging through my veins, rushing to my head, and in a moment, a screamed in anger, feeling my whole body engulfed in a weird kind of energy that empowered me. It was foreign to me, but I could see that Zabuza was waiting for this moment.

  
**Zabuza: I see you've finally awakened your clan's secret and it only took a bit of pushing. I'll be the only one to fight a Kasai and live. Some will pay grands for this secret~.  
Me: You...Damn...FUCKER!!!**

  
I could only see red in front of my eyes and a weird fire like a protective shield around me that gradually depleted my chakra, but I knew that now I stood more than a chance.

  
**Me: Sasuke! Now!**

  
I screamed at him as he started running towards me, in order to punch me, but I instinctively raised my hand, stopping his fist, only sliding backwards for a couple of centimeters, from the impact. I held his fist tight, smirking malefically at him as Sasuke prepared and threw a Fuuma shuriken using the Shadow Windmill jutsu, aimed to the real Zabuza, who jumped to dodge it, not realising the ghost shadow clone of the shuriken was actually Naruto, who transformed back into his normal self, throwing a kunai at him, shocking the rest since he managed to make both the enemy take his hand away from the hydro-prison entrapping Kakashi, but sliced his face too.

**_Great job, everyone!_ **

The rage and hatred on his face was obvious, his eyes lighting in bloodlust as he took the Fuuma shuriken, charging at me, being the closest to him, and despite preparing to dodge it, Kakashi blocked it with his own hand, getting injured and dispelling the clone.

  
**Me: Kakashi, you idiot! You got injured!**  
**Sakura: Kakashi-sensei!**  
 **Kakashi: Guys, your plan was great. You all have grown.**  
 **Sasuke: *smirks* It was luck.**

  
Kakashi was pissed off at what happened and it was clear that he'd fight Zabuza with all he had.   
And that was true, since he started copying each and every move his enemy would make, clearly intimidating him since he was able to counter his water dragon with his own creation of it, creating a big wave that took over us, the outcome being Kakashi parrying Zabuza's sword with his kunai.

  
**Me: HAAA! GO, KAKASHI! SHOW THIS BASTARD WHAT YOU'RE MADE OFF! KILL HIM! TEAR HIM TO SHREDS!**

  
He continued copying everything he did, a vein clearly popping on the Kirigakure ninja's forehead, beads of sweat forming as senpai even started saying the same thing he said. The peak of the fight was when he casted a genjutsu on him then creating a huge surging water that attacked him, trapping him underwater, then ending up at the base of a tree, powerless, with kunais piercing his body. _ **"It is over"**_ was said once again and this time, for real.

To our shock, however, a hunter-nin struck Zabuza in the neck with his needles, killing him. This person, so mysterious and serene that it inspired doubt despite what he did.  
As Kakashi confirmed his death, the hunter-nin thanked us for defeating the one he was after. It was clear, however, that senpai was unsure of his intentions. And to become even more annoying than he already was, Naruto started complaining that the hunter-nin, who was around our age, killed the criminal with complete ease, unlike us.

After they disappeared, the fire energy around me slowly vanished, rendering me incapacitated, burnt out, exhausted and fell to my knees, trying to catch my breathe. It was clear that I lost too much chakra, since my vision started darkening, and I fell into a black slumber.

* * *

 

When I came to, I was lying on my back, a blanket over me, staring at the ceiling, the morning light's in my face. But...Where was I? Have I already died? Or did someone get me to Tazuna's home? Hmm...  
Looking to my right, Kakashi was awake too, and noticing me shifting, greeted me with a close-eyed smile.

  
**Me: Kakashi...What happened?**  
**Kakashi: Well, too much chakra eaten away, I suppose.**  
 **Me: Not that...That much was obvious. Don't change the subject.**  
 **Kakashi: *sighs* What you did was awaken the Kasai's secret. I've only seen this happen once, when the Nine-Tails attacked the village. That's when...**  
 **Me: That's when my parents died, then?**  
 **Kakashi: *nods* As far as we know, yes. Your father was fighting someone while your mother was trying to protect Naruto's mother while she was giving birth. The whole tale is much more complex, and in the state we're in, I'd rather not heavy your heart with it, just yet.**  
 **Me: Very well. Then how did it happen? I fought with this secret kekkei genkai, and yet, I have no idea what activated it. Also...I felt so weird...Like a whole other person, and yet, I was completely aware of my actions.**  
 **Kakashi: Your speech change did surprise me, to say the least, but then I remembered what little the Hokage informed me about the Kasai clan. As far as we know, since none of them wanted to disclose any kind of compromising information about themselves, fearing exile. Behind this power, few people are born with this trait. It is said that a fox-like entity controls their subconscious, so when they fight, they somehow manage to trigger a part of your brain that activated this power, stimulating all chakra points to overflow but also regenerate at a high speed. The only down fall is that you get exhausted by the end of it if you haven't practiced how to control the chakra in and outcome.**  
 **Me: Fantastic. Why wasn't I never told? Wasn't it obvious that I held strength potential since very little? I could have refined my techniques by now...Or, I don't know, something! Anything!**  
 **Kakashi: I do not know the reason, Kitsune. It was the Hokage's decision and we had no say in it. Needless to say, from now on, we will have to train that very hard.**  
 **Me: I know...**  
 **Kakashi: Why did you name your fox the way you did?**  
 **Me: Kasai?**  
 **Kakashi: We thought that you somehow found out about your heritage, but that was clearly not the case. Was it just a coincidence?**  
 **Me: *looks down* Um...Well...You see...**  
 **Kakashi: What is it?**  
 **Me: I have this...Friend, let's say...And the first time I went with Kasai on a mission outside the village, by myself, we met...He umm...**  
 **Kakashi: He suggested the name, then?**  
 **Me: *nods* He laughed at the irony, saying he couldn't tell us apart...Then he asked what name I gave her and when I told him I didn't give her a name yet...**  
 **Kakashi: That's when he said it.**  
 **Me: Yeah. Just, outright blurted it. _"Call her Kasai, Kitsune! If she's any bit as chaotically destructive as you are, it will fit just fine."_**  
 **Kakashi: He tried to tell you your whole name, without making it obvious. Just who is this friend of yours?**  
 **Me: Eh...Well...I...I can't...**  
 **Kakashi: Be careful around strangers like him, Kitsune. Everyone is dangerous.**  
 **Me: I know...That's what he told me, years ago. He kept reminding me that...That Everybody Lies...And that I shouldn't trust anyone I don't know.**  
 **Kakashi: Don't meddle in dangerous business, Kitsune. After all, your friend is right.**  
 **Me: I know...**

  
Before we know it, a lady came into the room, telling us how we shouldn't force ourselves to move too much, seeing that it may cause further damage to the body.  
The result of the day was that just like I thought, Kakashi was sure the whole hunter-nin thing was a scam and Zabuza was saved last minute by a disguised associate.  
This and that, while still being sore and needing crutches, tomorrow we continue our training which stimulates chakra control, which I'm already familiar with, to some extent, since the next time we meet the nasty pair, it will be a much more deadly match.

Until tomorrow, however, we have this day to sleep the soreness away.


	3. Ice Ice Baby

The next day, despite our injuries, we went to the forest to train. More or less, Kakashi-senpai wanted to teach the other chakra control and how to climb trees. Sakura and senpai explained everything about chakra and chakra molding, making the boys complain, then to make a point, he had me climb the tree without using hands, by focusing my chakra to the sole of my feet, until I got to a larger branch, standing upside down, waiting for the guys to begin their exercise.

Not even surprisingly, the first to master this technique was Sakura, who made it to the top with extreme ease, who giggling and sticking her tongue out in victory. 

  
**me: You go, girl! Maybe you really are the strongest out of these guys, huh?**  
**Kakashi: Well, guess Sakura will be the one to become Hokage, not someone else. Ah...The Uchiha Clan isn't a big deal after all either.**  
**me: *chuckles* You're not subtle at all, senpai.**

  
By the end of the day, these 3 were burnt out from all the hard training that Kakashi was forcing on them. On the other hand, him and I were trying to figure out how to, first of all, summon the fire chakra that surrounded me during the fight with Zabuza, and on the second point, how to control it.  
I kept focusing so hard that a migraine was killing me for the past hours, until I sighed in defeat and let myself fall to the ground, watching the sky.

  
**me: Do you remember what happened back then? To trigger that...Thing?**  
**Kakashi: It was when Zabuza hurt Naruto, I believe.**  
 **me: Hmm...Yes, that must be it. So, you think it might have been triggered by...Threat?**  
 **Kakashi: No. The killing intent, the anxiety, the power were overwhelming since the second you lay your eyes on him. There must be something else.**  
 **me: Then...The fact that I got hurt?**  
 **Kakashi: I don't think that's it either. It triggered after you stood up from the fall. I think it might be -**  
 **me: -Anger...?**  
 **Kakashi: Yes.**  
 **me: So...I have to get angry beyond belief to unconsciously trigger a protective chakra. Yes, marvelous.**  
 **Kakashi: We only know the subconscious emotion that trigger it, but as you clearly know, it can be summoned at will as well.**  
 **me: Yes, yes, I know the idea, but I have no clue how! My name means UNcontrollable fire, y'know?**  
 **Kakashi: Uncontrollable for others, maybe, but not for you. You should be its tamer.**  
 **me: *sighs* Okay, fine. Reckon if I try to get angry, it might work? At least a little bit, to find out the sensation and feel what that silly chakra is up to?**  
 **Kakashi: It could work. You seemed very out of it, last time. Be careful not to let it control you.**  
 **me: It was weird, honestly...I've never felt so...So angry...Full of rage...I couldn't even control what I was saying. That's not normal, is it?**  
 **Kakashi: It must be the Kasai entity that's living inside your mind. That's where you have to reach, Kitsune. But don't let it overpower you. We don't know what might happen.**  
 **me: Yeah...Piece of cake...Haha.**

  
I let Kakashi go to supervise the others while I stayed in silence, meditating and trying to play with the chakra molding and feelings, but to no avail.  
However, to my surprise, as soon as I was about to give up for the day and go inside, I hear a soothing flute music, making me snap my eyes open.  
The world in front of me wasn't how I left it before I closed my eyes, but it was a complete new Universe, sunny, with gorgeous shrines and temples and blooming cherry blossoms. I get up and go follow the only guiding sound until I reach a waterfall and see a woman with long, white, glossy hair styled with golden and jade jewelry, with silver fox ears, ethereal facial features and a gorgeous, rich, princess kimono, standing on a rock on the waterfall pool, as the sun rays were caressing her porcelain skin.

  
**me: H-Hello, miss? Who...Are you?**  
**-?-: *smirks* Ah, what a surprise. Such a young Kasai managed to find her way into this place...**  
**me: You know me? I'm...Very confused...**  
**-?-: Oh? I see that you are not aware of your own powers. Tell me, young Kasai, what is your name?**  
**me: My name is Kitsune, miss.**  
**-?-: And do you know how you got here?**  
**me: I was meditating, trying to find my inner power and when I opened my eyes, I found myself in this place. Could you tell me why?**  
**-?-: *gentle smile* Such a sweet, innocent soul you are, young Kitsune. Did your parents not tell you about your powerful kekkei genkai?**  
**me: Well...They died when I was an infant...Actually, I didn't know I was a Kasai until very recently. Everyone around me says that my family is dead, but I don't know anything past that...Yet.**  
  
The gentle expression on the woman's face turned into complete rage, her ruby orbs shifting, a fox-like make up appearing on her face as her hair flew randomly in the air along with the upcoming storm that seemed to damage everything in its path.

  
**-?-: DEAD?! GONE, YOU SAY?! MY OWN CLAN WAS SO STUPID?! WHO DARED DEFY THE WILL OF INARI OKAMI?!  
me: I-I swear I don't know! Please, calm down, miss! I don't understand anything that's going on!**

  
As if on cue, everything around became calm one again, an eerie peace taking over the place as she sat down back on the rock and motioned me to come near her. As I did, she put her hand on my head, patting it and smiling at me gently.

  
**-?-: Worry not, young one, for I am here to guide you, not harm you. If it is as you say and you are the last descendant from my own blood...Then I'm going to make sure you stay alive. You will be the one to carry on my legacy and show them that the Kasai will never die. You, young Kitsune, will become the new Goddess of the Kasai.  
me: Uh...Uh...? What? How can I become a Goddess? I'm just a frail mortal who knows nothing of her inheritance!   
-?-: Give it time, Kitsune, and all will be unveiled for you. Just remember, anger is the key to unlock the most unbelievable powers, but focus and control are what's going to make them work for you, and not against you. This world, the Yin and Yang that forms it, is based on balance and equality between forces. You cannot have one without the other. Just like the female Goddess and the male God entities work as one to protect this world, so do your powers. Now, go back to your own world, little fox, and know that here is your home where you are most welcome.   
me: I...Th-Thank you, miss! But...Please...Who are you? Shouldn't I know the name of the one who is so kind with me?**  
  
  
Hearing me say that, she smiled gently then kissed the top of my head, murmuring _**"Your Guardian Goddess"**_ into my ear, before I felt myself go dizzy and fall to the ground, darkness taking over me.

When I came by, I was back on the field where I was meditating, but there was someone blocking my view of the sky-  
That someone being, in fact, Kakashi-senpai.

  
**me: *confused* Hello...?**  
**Kakashi: Kitsune, what happened?**  
**me: I...Met a Goddess...**  
**Kakashi: Did you fall asleep?**  
**me: No...Much better...I found out a bit about myself...**  
**Kakashi: Who was this Goddess you are speaking of?**  
**me: Her name...Inari Okami...**  
**Kakashi: *eyes wide* Come again?**  
**me: Inari...Okami...Was her name. She told me she was my guardian Goddess and that she'll make sure I become the most powerful Kasai to ever exist...She promised to protect me...**  
**Kakashi: So this is the deity that your mother mentioned before...**  
**me: Maybe...But, Kakashi, I think I know a bit better about how I could control my kekkei genkai...And maybe even how to improve it.**  
**Kakashi: That's great, Kitsune. For now, however, let's go back inside, you haven't eaten the whole day and you have to rest.**  
**me: Yeah, you're right. There needs to be a balance in this world, otherwise chaos will overcome and destroy it...Or at least, that's what she told me.**  
  
  
He helped me back to  my feet and together we went inside, while I kept telling him of what happened in this bizarre world, and we came up with different theories about what is going on.

For the next few days, we kept training and/or guarding Tazuna as he was building the bridge, and at night, we'd eat with his family and try to give the little kid his hope back

One day, the four of us, except Naruto, who we let rest back home, went to the bridge, but to our surprise, a thick concealment mist engulfed us, obviously alerting us of the enemy's attack.

We sat in a protecting formation, but what shocked us was the use of more clones.

  
**Zabuza: Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi. And you're still keeping the kids with you? What a pity, he's still shaking.**  
**Sasuke: *smirks* I'm shaking with excitement.**  
**Kakashi: Go for it, Sasuke!**  
  
As if on cue, Sasuke slashed all clones in the blink of an eye, earning a hum of acknowledgment from the enemy.

  
**Zabuza: That kid got stronger. A rival has appeared for you, Haku. You get the honour of killing both him and the Kasai girl.  
Haku: So it seems.**

 

This Haku kid, who so happens to be the so-called hunter-nin who took Zabuza the last time came at us, spinning like a whirlwind, but we were prepared for him. Sasuke parried all the kunai blows until Haku started doing one-hand seals which shocked everyone. I definitely need to learn that, if possible- It's amazing.

He created multiple ice needles which came towards us, but with just a bit of chakra, Sasuke jumped high, throwing shurikens at him, while I poofed in front of him, kicking him out of there, right in front of his partner, making Kakashi praise us.

 **Kakashi: You can't make fun of my team just because it has kids. Sasuke is Konohagakure's top rookie, Sakura is the village's shrewdest child, Kitsune is the sliest, most intuitive prodigy and Naruto is the #1 at surprising people.**  
**me: That's us~!**  
**Zabuza: You see now that you have to defeat these guys, yes, Haku?**  
 **Haku: It's a shame.**

  
With an immense amount of chakra, the kid trapped me and Sasuke in a weird-looking igloo of mirrors, in which he was reflecting.

  
**Haku: Mirror Ice Crystals.**  
**me: Ice jutsu...? I...Don't like the looks of this. Stay on your guard, Sasuke!**  
**Sasuke: Mirrors...? What's going on?**

  
On the other side of the igloo we had no way of knowing what was happening, but I'm sure senpai was trying to save us.  
Inside, Haku truly showed us his speed by endlessly throwing needles at us, not even able to dodge or parry all of them- We couldn't even see him move-  
The needles kept hitting and wounding us to no end, making us fall to the ground, unable to think of the next move, until Sakura got the courage to throw back Sasuke's kunai- It flew flawlessly in our direction, but Haku got his arm out of the mirror and caught it before we even had a chance to react.

I got up, doing numerous fire-style hand seals and tried to make another fire web to melt the ice mirrors, but it was to no avail.   
The mirrors barely melted before they quickly got back to their ice-solid form.

To our surprise, Haku fell out of the mirror for some reason. A blond reason that so happened to be Naruto, who managed to scar Haku's mask.

  
_**Naruto: Uzumaki Naruto is here!** _

  
Haku went out of the mirror to deal with Naruto before coming back inside, reflecting into every mirror there, throwing his needles at us again, shredding us, as we could barely parry anything. Our plan was to attack from the inside and Naruto to go from outside...But as he is the #1 at surprising people...He went inside the mirror igloo, grinning at us, saying he came there to help us, making all of us sweat drop in annoyance. The only thing we could do was try to destroy the mirrors together.  
I and Sasuke focused our fire attacks on the same point of the mirror, but nothing helped.

  
**Haku: They won't melt with that firepower.**

And with that, he threw those blasted needles at us again. Naruto did the Kage Bunshin jutsu, attacking all mirrors, making Haku come out of all the mirrors and attack the clones and he admitted that this was his kekkei genkai.  
Naruto got pissed off, started trailing on about his dream about becoming Hokage and how he can't give up, and I think it somehow touched the kid attacking us too, since, in a very gentle voice, he told us about his dream and how he didn't want to kill us unless we fought him. He...Even asked for our forgiveness.

I urged Naruto to do the Kage Bunshin one more time, and simultaneously, I used my fire jutsu, managing to burn a part of his pants. I think I'm getting the hang of his moves, little by little, which at this point, is a huge success.  
One more time- We need a diversion!   
Just as Haku was about to attack us, Sasuke told Naruto to run outside and attack from there, while we attacked him with our fire jutsu. He, however, saw past that and threw a needle in our direction, that I managed to deflect.

  
**Sasuke: That was good! Let's do that one more time!**

  
But things didn't go as we hoped, since instead, he threw countless needles at Sasuke, then at me and Naruto. There was only so much I could parry before they hit me badly as well. Naruto tried to run to us, but before he managed, he threw more needles towards him, all of them hitting him, making him tired.  
Haku started throwing more needles at us, but I parried them with ease, surprisingly, and Sasuke got one of the needles on the ground and parried them too, just as easily.

To our surprise, the enemy suddenly disappeared and Naruto fainted, while he taunted us. I could feel the rage boiling inside of me, but I told myself that I have to calm down so I could manage to control the fire that started engulfing me.   
As he threw more of his weapons at us, Sasuke got Naruto out of there and on further inspection, it was obvious that he managed to awaken his Sharingan. This will make things easier ~~_(I hope)._~~

The problem was that Haku realised that our kekkei genkai could overpower him, so he used Naruto to lure us out. Since I was the fastest of the two, I got there before Sasuke, trying to shield and block the attacks aiming at Naruto, but the outcome was unexpected.

  
**me: Gosh...You idiots...Letting a girl protect you...And you think you've grown? Hokage? Revenge? Ridiculous...**  
**Naruto: You...? Why? Why would you...Protect me?**  
**me: Maybe...'Cause you're my friends? Both of you...Urgh...**  
**Sasuke: That's stupid! Why would you do something like that for us?!**  
**me: *scoffs* There's always a peace in rage...Maybe this friendships are what brought me that peace..**  
**Naruto: I DIDN'T ASK YOU TO DO THIS!**  
**me: I...Didn't get to say goodbye...To my other friends...And Kasai...My baby fox...*sighs* Forgive me, Inari...I have failed you...**  
**Sasuke: Kitsune! Get a grip! You can't die here!**  
**me: Don't die...Please...**

  
The last thing I could do before darkness took over me once again was see the worried look on Naruto's face as Sasuke caught me before I fell on the cold hard ground.

* * *

 

By the time I woke up, Sakura was next to me, crying on my chest, wailing my name in agony. In all honesty, this gave me a headache, but I had no idea why she was behaving the way she did.

 **me: Sakura...? What's the matter?**  
**Sakura: Kitsune-chan? Kitsune-chan, you're alive!**  
**me: Well...Yeah...Seems so.**

Surprisingly, she jump-hugged me, holding me tight into her embrace, sobbing in happiness and relief. I tried to move, but I couldn't because of the pain. Gently, she helped me remove the needles while asking each time if I'm okay.

 **me: As long as I stop being a porcupine, I'll be okay, I promise. Thank you for worrying about me, Sakura-chan.**  
**Sakura: Sasuke told me what you did...Thank you for saving him...And Naruto.**  
**me: *grins* Don't mention it. Besides, I can try to slowly heal myself.**  
**Sakura: Heal yourself? How?**  
**me: I picked up some medical ninjutsu from a friend of mine. It came in handy from time to time. *winks* You should give it a shot, it's quite fun.**  
**Sakura: *eyes glow* Sounds amazing! Please teach me, Kitsune-senpai!**  
**me: *blush* Kitsune...Senpai?...I love the sound of that! Thank you for protecting Tazuna and for trying to help us. It was very brave of you.**  
**Sakura: I didn't do much...Here, let me help you stand up!**  
**me: Thanks, Sakura-chan. Say, how are the others? What happened with Haku and Zabuza?**  
**Sakura: Naruto and Sasuke are both safe, thanks to you. And for those two...I don't know the details, but Haku died protecting Zabuza.**  
**me: Ah...I see. I was expecting that.**  
**Sakura: I believed in you! You must have dodged the attacks so they won't hit your vital points!**  
**me: *chuckles* No...Haku did. He saved me. He never intended to kill us. He was too kind...**  
**Sakura: Hey, Sasuke-kun! Naruto! Kitsune-senpai is alright!**  
  
  
Before we could do anything to fight the ridiculous amount of petty enemies left, Tazuna's grandkid shot his crossbow at them, having brought all the villagers with him to fight, finally having courage.  
To scare them all off, Naruto and Kakashi used the Kage Bunshin, making them all run away.  
Zabuza's last wish was to see Haku's face one last time, so Kakashi brought him next to Haku's body, as I went next to them, holding my arm, looking up as it started to snow softly.

  
**Zabuza: You fought well, Kasai girl. It was an honour to have you as my last opponent. I suppose the saying was true...Nobody fights a Kasai and lives to tell the tale.**  
**me: Zabuza, please, speak no more about this. We are not enemies anymore, and we shouldn't have been from the start. This is the worst possible outcome, but...Please, spend this time you have left with Haku. He was the one who treasured you the most...And I think it was the same for you.**  
**Zabuza: It is true...This snow...Haku, are you crying? We lived together for so long...And now we die together. If possible...I want to go to the same place you're going to...**  
**me: You can go there now, Zabuza...Together. In a land full of pure white snow...A land of innocence.**  
**Zabuza: Don't cry, Kasai girl. There will be other times for you to shed tears, but now it is not the right time. I pray that it never comes.**

  
The scene was the most emotional thing I've ever witnessed, as Zabuza put his hand on Haku's face, shedding one last tear before he left this world. I couldn't hold my feelings in check, so I put my hand on my mouth, trying to stifle my cries as I turned by back to the rest, going to the other part of the dock, trying to calm myself.  
I killed many people before and I had no regret. But seeing others display their affections...Their emotions about others in such a way...It was foreign to me.  
For so long I went on without knowing or understanding what it truly is like to care for someone else...But I think I'm slowly starting to comprehend everything.

After this, we went to give those two a proper burial, leaving flowers at Haku's grave and the Executioner's Sword at Zabuza's.  
  
  
**Sakura: Kakashi-sensei, does a ninja really have to be as they say?**  
**me: Yep. No emotions, or you'll fail the mission. That's Rule 25th, wasn't it?**  
**Kakashi: It is. Konoha has this idea too. This is why ninjas suffer from this ideology unconsciously. Like Zabuza and Haku. Kitsune, you're no better either.**  
**me: I know.**  
**Kakashi: Then again, I think you're changing. I haven't seen you show your true feeling before.**  
**me: That's because I have never left my facade...Until today, it seems.**  
**Sakura: Facade...?**  
**me: Of course! If you have everything under control within yourself, if you can taunt the other into thinking you're so confident that you'll beat them with ease, showing you have no fear, then it will create the false illusion that intimidates mostly everyone! Keh.**  
**Kakashi: Well, it's not exactly wrong what you said.**  
**Sakura: That's...**  
**me: Kakashi...You idiots and your ideas of teams and friendship...And all the gushy stuff...You really like making people feel all these warm emotions before they get severed, eh? Comrades dying? Friends? And for what? Only to be replaced by others, just as replaceable!**  
**Kakashi: *chuckles* And you mean none of that.**  
**me: *sighs* 'Course I don't. After all, I was raised in Konohagakure, the village of friendship! Sheesh...**  
**Sakura: *grins* So, you finally see us as your friends, right?**  
**me: Why else would I go through what I just did? Ah, forget that! Let's go home, I'm starving. Ninja ideologies don't even matter anymore! We all go by different things, after all. Mission? Friends? Power? Reputation? Dignity?...But if you find out what drives a person, you can easily benefit from it *smirks*.**  
**Kakashi: Okay, okay, enough of Kitsune's Manipulation Techniques 101! To home with us!**  
**Naruto: Yasha! I'm going to follow my own ninja way!**

  
Ruffling his hair, we went on our marry way back home, where we could relax.  
The next day, I see Sakura at my doorstep, asking me if I wanted to have a sleepover at hers, since her parents agreed, for educational and team-bonding purposes. I was quite shocked, to say the least, but girls are girls, so I agreed and we went over to her.  
Her mum was rather strict but her dad was weirdly goofy and made horrible puns. So lame that they actually made me laugh.  
We gossiped all day until evening when I plopped on her bed and looked at her with a smirk.  
  
  
**me: Wanna see the real magic?**  
**Sakura: Hell yes!**  
**me: Okay, I'll show you. But I warn you, this will be extremely difficult. At least at the beginning until you learn the basics, that is. Once you learn about the human body, the chakra points and whatever the details, the training will go much easier. Clearly, I'm not in any way advanced at this, since I can only do some minor wounds, but since I have a little break from my missions, I'm going back to the Hospital to volunteer.**  
**Sakura: I didn't know you could do that! Ah, I wanna do that too! I'm so excited!**  
**me: Grab a napkin before anything.**

She brought me the whole tissue packet and I got a kunai, scratching a light wound on my shin, using a napkin the wipe the blood, more or less so it wouldn't stain the sheets. Then, I explain to her the whole cell-regeneration process and the platelets action on coagulation, and putting my hands together above the wound, I focus my chakra on my palms, slowly healing the wound, leaving the girl awestruck.  
After the wound healed, she traced the place with her finger, amazed at the fact that there was no scar left.

  
**me: So, that is that. Thing is, even if you tried now, you wouldn't succeed on an open wound. The whole training is very rigorous and difficult, and you have to start with resurrecting small fish by embedding their chakra points and vitals marks with your own chakra...And there's a shit ton of books you have to study. But, that shouldn't prove to be a problem for you. You're an incredibly smart kid, so I have faith.**  
**Sakura: *gleams* Thank you so much, Kitsune-senpai! Next time I'm free I'm going to do a lot of research and try to practice at the Hospital! I hope I can be as strong as you!**  
**me: *flushes* We both have a lot of room for improvement, but we're only like...what? 13? We have all the time in the world for that. Don't forget to enjoy your life as well, okay?**  
**Sakura: Hell yes, I will! *grins***


	4. Chunin Mischief

Word has it around that the Chunin exam is finally taking place in Konoha. Frankly, since I graduated at 8, I had no thought about actually competing. I couldn't care less about some silly title, especially one that's barely above Genin. Besides, you don't have to have a high rank to be allowed in the ANBU~.

When I was finally done with my mission, I see Team 7 talking casually so I decided to jump between them, grinning as a salute.  
As usual, Sakura hugged me, Kakashi ruffled my hair and Naruto went super hyper, asking how my mission went, and Sasuke just nodded in acknowledgment. After Senpai left, the pinkette asked the Uchiha if he wanted to strengthen their teamwork, but he retorted by saying she's weaker than Naruto and she should start training.  
Frankly speaking, he's not wrong, but it was way too harsh, since the girl went super upset.  
  
I gave her a one-arm hug and tried to pacify her, telling her I'll help her train, but it didn't help too much. Especially since these 3 kids arrived and Konohamaru kept saying how Sakura is Naruto's girlfriend. She obviously punched the hell out of the blond after he agreed, making the kid call her ugly. After that, she started beating them all.  
Of course, Konohamaru just wouldn't stop from insulting her, so the pinkette went even angrier, chasing them, until the kid slammed into a foreigner.

This foreigner, dressed in black with purple markings on his face was accompanied by a cool looking blonde girl with a huge fan.  
I slowly made my way there, seeing the Sunagakure ninjas looking menacing. The male, more than that, kept threatening Konohamaru by holding him by the neck of his Tshirt.

  
**male: That hurt, kid.**  
**girl: Stop it. We're going to get scolded later.**  
 **me: Yo. What's this commotion?**  
 **Sakura: I'm so very sorry! We were just joking around!**  
 **Naruto: OI! LET GO OF HIM!**  
 **me: Shut up, both of you.**  
 **male: But I wanna have fun before other noisy people come.**  
 **Konohamaru: Let me go!**  
 **me: Y'know, I think I've got an idea.**

  
Smirking, I slowly prowl my way in front of him, one hand gripping his wrist while with the other I used a finger to make him look at me as I kept my seductive facade on.

  
**me: Now, now, let's play nicely. After all, you are guests here and it would be horribly rude to anger your hosts, hmm~?**  
**male: *smirks* I think it's rather rude to harm your guests as well, missy.**  
 **me: You mean to tell me an 8 year old hurt a strong man like you? I couldn't possibly believe that.**  
 **male: *boasts* 'Course not! But he sure pissed me off.**  
 **me: Come on, Neko-chan~. Tell me your secret. Why have you come here?**  
 **male: Wouldn't you wanna know?**  
 **me: I so would. It intrigues me so, seeing two ninjas from Sunagakure coming all the way here...**  
 **male: Maybe I will tell you, after I'm done with this stupid short kid. Keh. So impertinent for someone younger than me.**  
 **Naruto: LET HIM GO!**

  
Naruto charged at the foreigner, but with a flick of his fingers, he managed to magically make the blond trip. So I was right, after all.  
Chakra strings.  
Seeing this made me smirk wider, cupping his face and getting closer to him

  
**me: Ha! Finally! And oh, what a lovely coincidence! You, a ninja from Suna, are a Puppet Master! I sure haven't seen one in a while!**  
**male: You seem to be much well cultured than the rest of these weak Genins.**  
 **me: Don't lump me with these low-lives. After all...You don't stand a chance!**

  
Grinning, I push him back and attach my chakra strings to his body, making him release Konohamaru. He was glaring at me poisoned daggers since he couldn't move unless I made him. Using the strings, I had him come in front of me, clearly not fearing any possible backlash from him.

  
**me: See, Neko-chan~? Never anger your host. Now, I ask again, what is your purpose here?**

  
What amused me was that I sensed Sasuke's chakra up in the tree behind us, so I decided to give him his beloved seconds of glory by releasing the male foreigner from my strings, which automatically made him try to punch me with the rage of a bull.  
I didn't even flinch from my place, knowing that the raven haired boy will take action before anything happened-  
And he did, throwing a rock at Neko-chan's hand, making him bleed.  
This, of course, earned lots of fangirl cheers.

  
**me: *grins* Perfect as usual, Sasuke.**  
**Sasuke: Nicely done, Kitsune. Now, what are you doing in others' villages? Get lost.**  
 **male: Hey, come down, kid. I hate kids like you who think they're so clever.**

  
Saying that, he took off the puppet from his back, looking ready to attack.

  
**girl: Oi, are you going to use Karasu?**  
**me: *eyes wides* K-Karasu, you said? Akasuna no Sasori's Karasu puppet?**  
 **male: The one and only.**  
  
But before I could say anything, I sensed a new chakra in the tree which made me turn back to examine it-  
It was a red haired boy with teal eyes hanging upside down from a branch. He looked about our age, visibly younger than the other two.

  
**boy: Kankuro, stop. You are a disgrace to our village.**  
**Kankuro: Ga-...Gaara...**  
  
By the looks of it, neither of them realised he was there.  


**Kankuro: Gaara...Listen, they started thi-**  
**Gaara: Shut up or I'll kill you.**  
 **Kankuro: I'm at fault. I'm really, really sorry.**  
 **Gaara: Excuse them, you guys.**  
 **me: No harm done. It was quite fun, actually.**  
 **Gaara: *nods* Let's go. We didn't come here to fool around.**  
 **Kankuro: I know.**

  
Before they could leave, Sakura asked them why they arrived there. Apparently, they were here for the Chunin exams.  


**me: You? The Chunin exams? I thought you were already higher than that. *shrugs***  
 **girl: We will be, shortly.**  
 **Naruto: What's a Chunin exam?**  
 **me: *facepalm* Please, pretend he doesn't exist...**  
 **Konohamaru: Nii-chan, you can pass from Genin to Chunin taking that exam.**  
 **Naruto: Cool!**  
 **Sasuke: Hey, wait. I am interested in your name.**  
 **girl: M-Me?**  
 **me: *eye twitch*...Don't.**  
 **Sasuke: No. The one with the gourd.**  
 **Gaara: Sabaku no Gaara. I am also interested in your and the girl's name.**  
 **Sasuke: Uchiha Sasuke.**  
 **me: Kasai Kitsune.**  
 **girl: Kasai...?**  
 **me: *smirks* The one and only.**  
 **Naruto: Hey! Hey! What about me?**  
 **Gaara: Not interested. Let's go.**  


Turning around, they left without a second thought. This clearly made me curious about this team. I may just tell Kakashi to let me take the exam as well~. 

The next day Kakashi coincidentally came to me to tell me that he recommended me and the rest of Team 7 for the Chunin exam and that after signing it, the exam is to start the next day, 3rd floor, room 301.  
And that's exactly what I did, and going to the 2nd floor, I see two other Genins ready to fight since Sasuke and Sakura already broke the Genjutsu.  
Before anything could happen, I use my chakra strings on those two and make them fly into one another, then dispelled their genjutsu.

  
**me: Izumo, Kotetsu, you think you could fool me? That was lame, even for you. Now, if you don't mind, I and my friends have an exam to take. *winks* Better luck next time~!**  
**Neji: Hey, you! Identify yourself!**  
 **me: Says who?**  
 **Neji: You and the other one are rookies, right? How old are you?**  
 **Sasuke: We are not obliged to answer that.**  
 **Neji: What?!**  
 **me: You're dull. Adieu~!**

  
With that, I and Sakura held hands, as she took Sasuke's and I Naruto's, then went upstairs to the actual examination room.  
There, we met with Kakashi who told us that I will go by myself into this exam, since there could only be teams of 3, and we were four.  
What he told me, however, is that there is one person who managed to complete all the exam by himself and create a record as well. A young prodigy much younger than us. He gave me no name, but I think I could easily guess who this person was, from the way both Senpai and my friend spoke of him

_**Uchiha Itachi.** _

 

Honestly, some times I really miss him. Frankly speaking, we only knew each other for a year, when both I and Sasuke started Academy. Sasuke would brag so much about his brother that he made me curious and brought me to his home once to meet him since he was eagerly waiting to greet him, coming from a mission.  
Ah, the good days those were...  
He was so calm and nice with us, bringing us tea and cookies, even watching us train and giving us tips. He would laugh whenever I'd beat Sasuke and ruffle his hair, in a way to pacify him. This only made the kid become more ambitious, wanting to make Itachi proud of him.  
Hell, on extremely rare occasions, even Shisui would be around and damn, was he a funny one! I'd have loved to have him as my brother! I always felt very close to him for whatever reason...Maybe because we both loved to fool around and pull silly pranks on the brothers? Ah...

Really...I truly miss those days.  
And what shocks me more is that Sasuke actually believes that Itachi had no reason to slaughter his clan.  
They had such a strong bond and seeing this whole situation unfold truly aches my heart.  
After that, Sasuke ghosted me, and graduating Academy didn't help our friendship either...But I suppose feelings never truly die, they only get repressed in an inhibitory state, buried deep inside our heart.  


 As soon as Kakashi finished his encouragement pep talk, he let us go through the door into the First Exam Room and needless to say, the atmosphere was tense as all seven hells and my friends were scared beyond belief at the sea of people taking the exam.  
I put my hand on Sakura's shoulder to calm her before I see Ino squealing in delight and jumping on Sasuke's back.  
Of course, the blondie and the pinkette started arguing, then Shika and Choji came as well.

  
**Naruto: Hey, it's the idiotic trio!**  
**Shika: Stop calling us that, it's so annoying.**  
 **me: As if you could beat him, Naruto...**  
 **Kiba: Seems like you came here as well, eh?**  
 **Hinata: H-Hello...**  
 **Kiba: I see all of you decided to take the exam.**  
 **Sasuke: You seem pretty confident.**  
 **Kiba: We trained like hell, we won't lose to you!**

  
After more useless chatting between us, friends, a guy with silver hair and glasses stepped next to us. Apparently, he was also sporting a Konoha forehead protector, which was incredibly weird since I've never seen him before.  
_**Highly peculiar.**_

Yakushi Kabuto is his name, as he claims, and he managed to creep out my friends by making them look around to see all the frightening faces of the foreign ninjas.  
Since we were rookies, as he calls us, he decided to tell us more about the exam since he took it like 6 times...Clearly failing.  
He took out some cards which he infused with his chakra and they will tell you information about certain ninjas that we inquired about.  
To be fair, this was pretty intriguing but his questions were going into a weird depth that seemed suspicious. Clearly, Sasuke asked about Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaara, which wasn't a surprise. Doing his magic, he told us how Rock Lee is older than us, his team, his missions completed and the fact that his Taijutsu is excellent. As for for Gaara, there wasn't much info, only that he did a B-rank mission and came unharmed, even in his barely Genin state.  
Before anything could happen, I see Kankuro advancing towards us with a smirk on his face.  
  
  
**Kankuro: Ah, I see you and your little twerps are here too, eh? Asking around about us?**  
**me: Clearly not you, Neko-chan. You're the least frightening of your team. The red-head, however...*nods* Pure ninja material, I tell ya.**  
 **Kankuro: *sweatdrops* Of course...Gaara is the scary one...So, you ask about him, yes? Then, how about I ask about you?**  
 **Kabuto: You wish to ask for another information card?**  
 **me: *eye twitch* Kankuro...!**  
 **Kankuro: *smirks* Kitsune...Kasai!**  
 **Kabuto: *nods* Very well. She's 13, just like the rest of you, but she finished Academy at 8 years old. Her skills in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are top and where she lacks in Taijutsu, she makes up with Swordsfight. You already know her teammates. And as for missions...15 D-rank, 12 C-rank and 7 B-rank.**  
 **Kankuro: Not bad, kiddo. I think you have the best potential out of these welps.**  
 **me: Honestly, you guys have no qualms! And, Kankuro, for the record, I'm doing this exam ALONE! No team to rely on, just like you have to rely on Gaara for protection and what not! I'd want to see you do that...twerp.**  
 **Kankuro: You're pissing me off to no end!**  
 **me: Then, I'm doing my job...Neko-chan~!**  
 **Gaara: Kankuro! Quit fooling around!**  
 **Kankuro: F-Fine...**  
 **me: Younger and yet he's completely dominating you. Tsk tsk. I never took you for the submissive type~**  
 **Kankuro: ARGH! Just you wait...!**  
 **me: I will *winks***

  
After the tense atmosphere, Naruto started threatening everyone, Ino and Sakura started fighting again for provoking everyone, but at least it made my friends smile.  
As if on cue, the three Sound ninjas went to us with great speed and one of them attacked Kabuto while the girl went for me. The silver hair guy dodged the attacks easily, and the girl threw some needles at me which I easily dodged. However, the sheer thought of someone trying to get cocky by fighting us was pissing me off so much that I could feel the fire burning inside my veins. I jumped and punched her stomach as hard as I could, making her fly into the opposite wall, groaning from the impact. Kabuto, however, didn't have the same luck since his glasses broke and apparently he threw up.  
  
**Sasuke: What's going on? He clearly dodged his attacks!**  
 **me: These guys are from the Sound village. Clearly they must have used some noise-related jutsu while attacking, which would make up for the lack of speed. As well as that, a horribly loud noise, like one that goes beyond the 130 decibels would affect one's balance through the ears, because of the vestibulary part of the ear, as well as the cerebellum. Obviously, they're both at the same place, the head, I mean, which is why he aimed, surprise surprise, to the head.**  
 **Kabuto: *chuckles weakly* I guess you're right. It does make sense.**  
 **guy: Eh, so you figured that out so easily?**  
 **me: *flips hair* As if it was any difficult. It's you who's stupid if you thought we wouldn't figure out some petty attack like yours.**  
 **guy: On some others, it was highly effective.**  
 **me: Not on me.**  
  
Before we could chat more, the supervisor, Ibiki, a man looking rough and strict, came in the room and assigned our seats to us. To my thrill, I was seated next to Gaara. Red-heads for the win!   
I look to my right, feeling his eyes on me, trying to analyse me, but I only winked at him, wishing him good luck at the exam. I'm sure this petty written exam won't prove to be any sort of difficult to him.

  
**Gaara: Is it true?**  
**me: What?**  
 **Gaara: You came here alone.**  
 **me: I have my friends with me, so technically speaking, I'm not alone.**  
 **Gaara: Friends, huh? What are those?**  
 **me: You don't know?**  
 **Gaara: *shakes head***  
 **me: Friends are people you get along with, share your thoughts, feelings and ideas with and they support you and cheer you up.**  
 **Gaara: Hmm...Sounds unreal.**  
 **me: *smiles* Maybe you haven't met the right people yet. I'm not saying it's easy to make friends, but when you do, it will be worth the wait.**  
 **Gaara: I doubt that.**  
 **me: What about your teammates? Kankuro and...I never got her name...Oops.**  
 **Gaara: Temari. They are my siblings.**  
 **me: Siblings? That's amazing, isn't it? Brothers develop unbelievable bonds of trust and understanding-**  
 **Gaara: They are afraid of me. They loathe me?**  
 **me: I don't believe that.**  
 **Gaara: Believe what you want. It is the truth.**  
 **me: Siblings often get mad or upset at each other, but they always make up someway. Family is family, they say. They don't seem like bad people.**  
 **Gaara: People don't like monsters.**  
 **me: You are not a monster, Gaara! Don't say something like that.**  
 **Gaara: You don't know something that you haven't seen.**  
 **me: But I see you. And when I see you, I see sorrow and a fearful innocence pooling into your eyes. Now, I don't know what kind of people you were surrounded and indoctrinated by, but I think all you need is a friend. And maybe a hug.**  
 **Gaara: What is a hug?**  
 **me: *grins* How about I show you after we finish this exam? This way I can make sure you're actually going to talk to me again. Deal?**  
 **Gaara: Whatever.**

  
Stretching my limbs, I crack my back in a way to giddy myself up for this written exam and get it over with. I want to go to the fun part. Besides, I want to beat Itachi's score!  
Ibiki told us the rules of this exam which made me facepalm, but besides that, I think I get what he's trying to get at. The way he said that if one of the team members gets 0 points, everyone will fail, it just screams _**TEAMWORK**_ to me.   
  
We were finally allowed to turn over our tests and with one skim over them I realised that sure, for me and Sakura they would be piece of cake, but for a normal Genin, this would prove to be quite...Challenging.  
I write down everything as fast as I could then put the paper down, closing my eyes and going to the happy place when I meet with Inari Okami to train.

  
**Inari: Ah, the Chunin exam, I see. It's always so lovely seeing younguns have ambitions.**  
**me: It is, isn't it? But what is better is seeing how they reach their goals. And by that, I mean how they cheat.**  
 **Inari: *smirks* I see you realised the aim of this exam with ease.**  
 **me: Were you expecting something else?**  
 **Inari: On the contrary.**  
 **me: Then, could you help me out? I want to analyse every cheating technique so I can know my enemies' styles better.**  
 **Inari: Consider it done. Just open your eyes and see the magic.**  
 **me: Thank you, my Goddess.**  
 **Inari: Be careful, child. The one you are so friendly with has a horrible chakra around him. He's a jinchuriki.**  
 **me: Jinchuriki...? Ah, you mean like how you told me about Naruto?**  
 **Inari: Very well, young Kitsune. Be on your way.**

  
As soon as I opened my eyes, my vision was slightly red, but I could see all chakra movements everywhere around me, which made it so much easier to see everyone and how they either help their teammates, themselves...Or fail miserably.  
By the end of this exam, many idiots who couldn't cheat properly got kicked out, but the others did quite well. Sasuke used his Sharingan, Neji and Hinata used their Byakugan, Gaara used his sand to form a spying eye, Kiba used Akamaru for Info gathering, the Sound guys used the sound rhythm to write, Shino used bugs, Team Gai used amazing string techniques using a mirror on the ceiling that cheated off Shino, Ino used her Mind-Transferring Jutsu to get into Sakura's head then told Shikamaru and Choji the answers and so on.  
  
This, honestly, was incredibly intriguing.  
Kankuro went to the bathroom with an examiner, which, when they returned, proved to be Karasu. Oh, boy, Neko-chan, you sure are fun~!  
After 45 minutes, Ibiki said he'll give us the 10th Question, saying that if we decide to take it but we fail, we'll remain Genins forever. Clearly, most people got incredibly angry but Ibiki was laughing at our misfortune, which made some give up already.  
  
Naruto, however, also raised his hand, but instead of giving up, he slammed it on the table, protesting and saying how he doesn't care about some stupid rank and that he's going to become Hokage no matter what. This honestly made me laugh out loud in slight admiration and irony at the kid, making Gaara turn his gaze at me.  
  
**Ibiki: You still have time to give up. This choice will impact your future.**  
**Naruto: I'm not taking back my words! This is my Way of Ninja!**  
 **me: Oi, exam guy! You heard him! Just give us that question already! Look around ya, don't you see? Naruto's words encouraged everyone! Nobody's gonna give up anymore!**  
 **Naruto: Yes, that's right!**

  
All the Chunin examiners nodded at Ibiki and he agreed to say that we all pass, shocking everyone. This, of course, made me laugh even harder, but Sakura asked what this madness was.

  
**me: Of course, of course! You never cared about the test in the first place! You just wanted to see if we have the guts to become Chunin, and also, the skills to cheat without getting caught. Well, this was fun.  
Ibiki: Correct you are. There was no such thing as a 10th question to begin with.**

  
He then started explaining the whole purpose of this exam, information gathering and all that, and told us about the 2 Chunin who came in disguised as Genin to help us cheat.  
After that, he took off the forehead protector covering his scalp that was full of torture scars, proving to us the necessity of being subtle and stealthy during missions and the importance of accuracy and teamwork.  
This 10th Question was actually a way to make us choose between two painfully difficult choices then gave us a proper mission example of risk taking, saying that no matter what, it's impossible to avoid life-threatening missions.

  
**me: Ehh, you're pretty cool, I admit.**  
**Ibiki: The Chunin Exam's First Part ends now!**  
 **Naruto: HELL YES! YES! OH YES!**  
  
But he couldn't cheer much since the 2nd examiner already came bursting through the window, extremely obnoxious.  
Mitarashi Anko, a purple haired kunoichi shocked by the fact that Ibiki let 82 people pass, then said she'll make more than half of us fail.  
  
The next day, for the 2nd Exam, we went to the Forbidden Area, the 44th training area, known as the Forest of Death.  
She explained the rules of this 2nd exam then gave everyone either Earth or Heaven scrolls, got us to our starting points, which wasn't anywhere near my friends', unfortunately, then we darted off.  
  
Kakashi mentioned this person who took the test alone finished it in about 5 hours.

_Well then, so should I, then!_


	5. The Fox and The Tanuki

I go through Gate 13 and dart off, trying to track down the team who has the Earth scroll that I need.   
Clearly, if I learnt something in my days of missions, was that being out in the open wasn't safe.  
And that's exactly why I started running with my Heaven Scroll out in the open, in a way to bait them to come fight me. I was, after all, just a poor, frail, 13 year old girl, right~?

This strategy proved to be extremely effective since a team of Takigakure ninjas came to fight me. I feigned fright, making them approach me, until I finally started laughing at their idiocy, then snapped, making a huge fire engulf us, burning them in the process. They screamed, doing jutsus to stop the fire, but I used my katana to slash through them, clearly at an advantage. I only needed to get the one with the scroll, which meant two things-  
  
 _ **1) I can pass already  
2) One team is down.**_  
  
 **J A C K P O T !**

Chuckling at them, I run away, heading for the base. This clearly must mean I get to beat Itachi's record, right?  
However, on the way there, I meet up with Gaara's team as he finished killing off a team from Amegakure.  
Coming out of my hiding spot, I smirk and applaud him.

  
**me: Now, that was a lovely show, Gaara-kun.  
Kankuro: You again?! What the hell do you want with us?!  
me: Neko-chan, you didn't miss me? Ah, I'm hurt. So deeply hurt...*shakes head* Deeper than the Mariana Trench.  
Kankuro: *sweatdrops* Wh-What...The hell...  
me: I won't bother you for too long...But you have to show me. Now. Show me, Kankuro! The famous signature! The seal!  
Kankuro: Huh?!  
me: *smirks* Akasuna no Sasori's sign on Karasu!  
Kankuro: And why would I do that?!  
me: Because if you don't...Then I will!**

  
With an obvious cheshire grin, I attach my chakra string on both Kankuro and the puppet on his back, making him dance while the puppets bandages were quickly unwrapping themselves. On it, the mark of the Red Scorpion was obvious, leaving me quite nostalgic as I ran a finger over it.

  
**me: *mutters* Sasori-senpai sure has been busy recently...  
Kankuro: Can you stop this already?!  
me: *sighs* You're no fun, Neko-chan...  
Kankuro: AND STOP CALLING ME NEKO-CHAN!  
me: Eh...Nah.  
Gaara: Leave or I'll kill you.  
me: Now that you mention it, you told me to show you what that thing was, right?  
Gaara: Yes.  
Temari: What thing?  
me: Something that you both should have given your younger brother much more often, you idiots!  
Temari: Wh-What?! How do you know-  
Gaara: I told her. Now shut up.  
Temari: R-Right.  
me: Play nice, Gaara-kun. Threatening your siblings won't help you in any way.  
Gaara: *trembles* You piss me off. I will kill you.  
me: *sighs* You can't just kill everyone, y'know? You'll end up alone.  
Gaara: I already am.  
me: You're not.**

  
I took a step carefully in front of me, in an attempt to get closer to him, but a huge sand barrier went to protect him before I could even blink. This made the other two visibly concerned.  
  
  
 **me: How can I give you a hug when I can't even get close to you? You need to make an effort if you want to learn what's like to have friends, y'know?  
Gaara: Then I don't want any friends.  
me: Now that's silly...**  
  
  
Before I could say anything, both I and Gaara notice 3 new chakras hiding in the bush, and on further inspection, it was Hinata's team. Gaara's bloodlust seemed to go through the roof by the way he was glaring at that spot, so I quickly went to obscure his view by standing in that spot.  
  
  
 **me: There's nothing to see there.  
Gaara: There is.  
me: Nothing for YOU to see.  
Gaara: Why are you protecting them?  
me: They are my friends.  
Gaara: I don't believe you would put your life at risk for the petty lives of three strangers.  
me: Then get used to that idea. People who have friends do silly things to protect them.  
Gaara: Like what?  
me: *smirks* Like standing in the way of harm to protect them until they make their escape.  
Gaara: *eyes widen* You...! I will kill you!  
me: You said that three times before already. You should really make up your mi-....! Oh no!  
Kankuro: Why are you so bipolar?**  
  
  
At this point I visibly started to tremble, turning my head like a spazzic meerkat, trying to pinpoint the location of the dreadful chakra. I had a horrible feeling about this, and that clearly meant that my team was in danger.   
 _ **Grave. Danger.**_  
With a roar of rage, I let a harmless chakra fire surround go over the whole Forest in an attempt to find my friends.  
  


**Kankuro: What's with you?!  
me: My friends are in danger...Mortal danger...I...I have to save them, dammit!  
Gaara: You finished the exam. Why would you get into a life-threatening situation for some strangers?  
me: Didn't you hear me?! MY FRIENDS ARE IN DANGER! There's one thing to complete a mission, but if you don't care about your friends and comrades, then you are the worst kind of scum to exist! Hear me out, Gaara-kun, and hear me clearly. You want something, but you cannot reach for it because of your obvious reputation and inhibitions. If YOU don't change, the world around you won't either!   
Gaara: What are you-  
me: No more time for foolish talk! Goodbye!**

  
And with that, I bolted towards the place where my fire detected my friends, inside a cave. By the time I arrived there, Naruto and Sasuke were out cold in the cave, Lee on the ground, unconscious, Sakura beaten up on the ground and the Ino-Shika-Cho trying to protect them from the Sound guys and another team from Kusagakure.  
Them, again, causing us trouble.  
As I jumped from the tree, I could feel a horrible burning rage go through me as I punched the ground, making it shake and break under their legs.   
I couldn't see clear, my vision became red and I was almost completely taken over Inari, in means of revenge.

  
**me: Who do you think you are, fucktards? Doing this to my lovely kouhai? To my friends? You think you're strong? Well...If that's the case...LET'S SEE HOW YOU GO AGAINST THE WRATH OF A GODDESS!!!**   
  


With my eyes wide and a sadistic grin I move at the speed of light beating them up. I threw fire everywhere they were, summoning Kasai to take care of them as I started slashing the Kusa guys, letting the blood splutter all over.  
  
  
 **me: IS THAT ALL YOU CAN DO?! WEAKLINGS! You think you could go away with hurting my friends?! WELL, THINK AGAIN!**  
  
  
Before I could unleash my wrath on the other guys as well, Sasuke woke up but he behaved weirdly, having dark pattern on his body and a horribly evil chakra surrounding him as he started talking about how _**'he'**_ gave him power, that he was an avenger and then one of the cocky sound guys challenged him, using the Maximum wind cutter. making me raise a wall of fire to deflect the blow. Sasuke, however, poofed behind this guy and broke his arms with uncharacteristic sadism.  
I could only look at him suspiciously, trying to get who this _**'he'** _ was, as the enemy screamed bloody murder.  
The other enemy was shaking in fear as Sasuke approached him, clearly knowing the situation better than we did...  
  
Sakura, in desperation and sorrow, yelled at her crush to stop and hugged him from behind, letting a stream of tears falling down her cheeks.  
This made the seal return and he fell to the ground. This made the enemy give up his Heaven scroll, admitting defeat as he dragged away his teammates.  
Then, Sakura yelled at him, asking about who this Orochimaru person was and why did he order them to kill Sasuke.  
 _ **Orochimaru...**_  
  
I only heard briefly of him, since he was one of the Three Legendary Sannin, along with Tsunade and Jiraiya, but I don't know much else. Aside from that, something is clearly putrid.  
Managing to calm down, I sigh, looking over at the three corpses and I go in front of Sakura and Sasuke.

  
**me: I'm sorry for showing you something so gruesome, Sakura. I apologise.  
Sakura: It's...It's okay...I guess.  
me: Sasuke, how are you feeling? Are you still hurting?  
Sasuke: Yeah...A bit.  
me: Let me take care of your wounds before I leave.  
Sakura: Are you leaving again?  
me: You have the second scroll too, right? You should all hurry back to finish this exam. It's only going to get more dangerous from now on. The whole deal with Orochimaru, however...I will have to do some research about this. Something is clearly not right.  
Sakura: Yeah...Seems that way.  
me: Well, then! Let the healing begin!**

  
Cracking my fingers, I go to each and every one of them, healing their wounds, then sighed, feeling a wave of exhaustion take over me. I quickly told them the way to the Headquarters and took off, running as fast as I could, not wanting to stay in this forest more than I had to.

In the end, I managed to get to the HQ much before evening, but I wasn't the first one to get there, since the Sand Siblings got there before me. Kankuro smirked at me victoriously showing me a thumbs down.  
I growled at his puerile self and turned around, not wanting to deal with him.  
By nightfall, Hinata's team arrived, still shaky after the encounter with Gaara.

  
 **Hinata: K-Kitsune-chan, you're here! I'm so happy to see you!  
me: I'm glad you're all safe. This was surely dangerous...  
Kiba: Thanks for back then. I and Akamaru thought we'd surely be goners.  
me: *sighs* It's...All very bad. Let's relax for now...There's still a lot to wait for the others.  
Kiba: Are we the first here?  
Shino: No, I sensed a presence.  
me: Gaara and his team got here much before me. Tsk, that jerk, Kankuro...**  
  
  
Just then, as if on cue, the three passed by us, saying how they waited 12 hours and already got bored. They looked at us ominously and went to the other room.

  
**me: One of the examiners told me they finished in 97 minutes. That beats the record by like...4 hours or so. And that says a lot. Did you see him? Gaara had no wounds, no dirt on him...Nothing. He breezed through the forest as if nothing touched him.  
Hinata: Th-That is quite scary.  
me: I got here in about 4 hours and so, but I had to stop to save Sakura and the rest. They managed to get in big trouble.  
Kiba: *chuckles* No surprise coming from Naruto.  
me: *shrugs* True. Also, things are much worse than I thought they'd be...  
Kiba: I sure hope I don't have to fight against one of those 3.  
me: Me too, honestly. On the other hand...*grins* I beat the record too~! And I couldn't be more satisfied. The person who made this record competed alone as well. And with that being said...That was pretty cool *winks*.**

  
After these 5 days ended, we were allowed to go through a door in an empty room where, on the wall, there was a text about Heaven and Earth that I didn't really bother to read. I opened both scrolls, and to my surprise, Kakashi-senpai was there to greet me.

  
**me: Well, I wasn't expecting you here. 'Sup~?  
Kakashi: I heard you beat the record, 'grats~!  
me: Eh...The Suna team got here in 97 minutes...  
Kakashi: I...Heard that as well.  
me: Senpai, I think Naruto and the others were attacked by Orochimaru. Sasuke has this weird seal on him that gave him an immense amount of chakra and power  
Kakashi: Orochimaru, you say? Well, that is bad. I will have to see what the higher ups say.  
me: Tell me what you find out, okay? I wouldn't want to deal with someone like him, to be fair.  
Kakashi: I think nobody would want that.  
me: Okay, forgetting about that, what's next?  
Kakashi: Ehh, you see, there will be some preliminary matches before the 3rd Exam, which will take place in a month from now.  
me: Urgh, we're still too many, huh?  
Kakashi: *scratches the back of his neck* Yes, apparently.  
me: *sighs* When will this agony end?! I'm getting bored.  
Kakashi: Now, now, don't get too hasty. Be ready for a fight and break their legs!  
me: Literally!  
Kakashi: If needed, yes.  
me: You know me, Senpai! *winks***

  
I stepped through the door and was met up with the others. In front of us, our Jonin were waiting for us and as usual, Gai and Kakashi were bickering. Or well, Gai more than senpai, since he wasn't paying attention.  
I'm just glad that all my friends were here, but just like Sasuke mentioned, things won't end up nicely.

As the Hokage told us about the reason we take this exam then, before he could tell us more, Gekkou Hayate came and told us about the preliminary matches that take place now, when we _(or some of us)_ are half dead.  
Before we could do anything, I noticed the Sound Jonin looked extremely weird and had an ominous vibe to mean and Sasuke's seal was acting up, making him feel intense pain. Sakura suggested he withdraws, for his own health, but of course, he didn't agree. Before she could raise her hand to tell the teachers about the seal, Kabuto raised his hand to quit, saying he's in no form to fight.   
Kabuto...Is giving me bad vibes.  
  


After the silence was broken by Hayate's cough, the first match was to start, and the names of the two to fight were Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke.  
It was one hell of a fight, especially with the horrible state he was in, but surprisingly, he managed to win with great difficulty. After the match, Kakashi took him in another room to seal the curse, and we waited anxiously for the next match. By the looks of it, the Sound Jonin seemed to have obvious ecstasy on his face seeing Sasuke win...Which wasn't normal.

The next match was Zaku, the guy whose arms were broken by Sasuke, and Shino, who won easily by making his bugs crawl all over and consume his chakra. To be frank, his arms kinda exploded or gave up since the bugs went inside him through the air holes in his palms, then Shino bitch-slapped him with style, making me and his team cheer for him wildly.  
He's pretty cool, actually!

The next match was Kankuro and the other guy from Konoha who was Yoroi's team mate, but like the Drama Queen he was, Kankuro won by switching places with his puppet when the enemy...uh...Kinda strangled him to death?  
In turn, Karasu was made to...Uh...Hug his enemy until he gave up.  
By this time Kakashi-senpai returned, but he seemed a bit shaken up by something. I looked back at him but he shook his head dismissively. I will ask him about what happened later.

After he won, I poofed next to Kankuro, smirking at him and mock-applauding him.  
  
  
 **me: Well, well, that wasn't so bad after all. 'Grats for your match....You couldn't be less of a Drama Queen could you?  
Kankuro: It makes everything more enjoyable, after all.   
me: Yeah, of cou-... No way-!  
Kankuro: Teammate of yours?  
me: Not only that, but she's fighting her best rival friend. Ah...What a drag...From all the possible pairs...This had to happen.  
Kankuro: They're going so soft on each other-  
me: This is a disaster!  
Temari: This is ridiculous to watch.  
me: Temari...Would you fight Kankuro or Gaara to death?  
Temari: Wh-What's that question?  
me: This is exactly the situation. To be fair...They had a fall out after realising they love the same guy...But nonetheless...They care for each other the most out of everyone in this village, ever since they were little kids. Before even the Academy started. Ino protected Sakura from bullies many years before she managed to gain any self-confidence.  
Gaara: Are you saying this is what friendship is? This weakness?  
me: On the contrary. Friendship is what makes you stronger...Whenever my friends are in danger, my powers act up. I feel the need to protect them. One day, you will understand. Until then...GO, SAKURA! INO! DO YOUR BEST!**

  
The Sand siblings looked at me weirdly, not understanding this whole comradeship, but continued to watch the fight.  
In a sign of solidarity, the girls put their forehead protectors on their foreheads and started fighting fairly, with all they had, to show they were serious.   
In the end, Ino cut off her hair too, but the ending result was a tie between those two, both knocking the other unconscious.  
  
 **me: *giggles* This was the best possible outcome out of the worst possible combination.  
Temari: *shrugs* That was painful to watch.  
me: It was, but it was not the match, but the feelings behind it that mattered for them.  
Temari: Oh, seems like my match is next.  
me: Good luck, Temari!  
Temari: Shouldn't you cheer for the ones in your village?  
me: I will cheer for whoever I want. GO, TENTEN!  
Kankuro: You're a weird one.  
me: Maybe. But Temari is sure awesome. She's an infinite times cooler than you!  
Kankuro: I can't wait to see you fight and lose, then!  
me: Me? Lose? What a joke.  
Kankuro: You're pretty confident for a kid.  
me: As if you're any better!  
Kankuro: Tsk. That's why I hate kids.  
me: This kid could beat you up in the blink of an eye.  
Kankuro: We will see about that in the real matches.**  
  
  
Temari then threw TenTen away, but Lee caught her before she could hit the ground and tried to attack her, but she easily blocked him with her fan, making Gai interfere.  
The next match was finally mine against a girl from Kirigakure. Well, this brings odd memories, but it should be fun.  
Before I poofed down I winked at Gaara, saying _**"Wish me luck"**_ , then let the cheers from my friends engulf me as I did a mock courtesy to my enemy who seemed extremely pissed off.  
  
  
 **me: Now, now, Risa-chan, I won't blame you for being scared. I mean, after all, you're fighting me. It's understandable.  
Risa: Shut up, you stupid kid! You and your glossy well-kept hair, soft skin and silly personality...You think you could beat me? You, who look like you're taking care of picking up boys instead of training?!  
me: *blinks* Woaw...And they say don't judge a book by its cover. That was rude, Risa-chan. If I were you, I'd go on my knees and apologise before it's too late.  
Risa: Me?! Apologise to some ordinary, dull freak like you?! No chance. Prepare to die!  
me: Dull...? Freak...? That's...Not very nice of you to say...  
Risa: And what are you gonna do about it?! Cry to your mummy?!  
me: Well, maybe I would if I could. But you see, she's been dead for quite a while so this might prove to be quite inconvenient.  
Risa: GET OVER IT! PEOPLE DIE EVERYDAY!  
me: Your point?  
Risa: YOU'RE NEXT!  
me: Then...BRING IT ON!**

  
As I yelled that, I grinned sadistically at her, letting the fire chakra engulf me and spread around, menacing, making her stare at me in fright.  
  
 **me: What is it, Risa-chan?! Afraid to get a ickle little burn~?  
Risa: Water always beats Fire!**

  
She charged at me, doing various water signs, summoning huge water dragons to hit me on the spot, but just before they could get to me, I let the fire consume me, disappearing from the place, making everyone gasp, thinking I got defeated.

  
**Risa: Not much of a challenge, eh?  
me: *low chuckle* Think again.**   
  


Appearing behind her, I breathe on her neck, letting a psychotic laugh escape my mouth. I was enjoying playing with her more than I wished to admit.  
  


**me: Just like a feline who plays with her pray before she kills it, this fox is enjoying her new toy.  
Risa: Wh-What?!  
me: Don't tell me you thought I am fighting you seriously right now. But...Your expressions are so cute, Risa-chan.  
Risa: JUST DIE ALREADY!**

  
She took out her sword, imbuing it with water chakra, but each time she'd strike, I'd let the fire teleport me behind her, tapping her on the shoulder each time, before I grew tired of this mess and punched her in the gut, making her stumble on the ground, coughing blood.  
  


**me: Are you ready to give up, Risa-chan~? Beg for mercy? Stay on your knees in front of me like the little bitch that you are~?  
Risa: Y-You...You...You...Mon...ster...!**

  
Hearing her mumble, my eyes widened and my fire immediately disappeared from the shock.

  
**me: I beg your pardon?  
Risa: You...Are such...A...horrible...MONSTER!  
me: Come again? What did you call me?  
Risa: YOU FUCKING MONSTER! I WILL KILL YOU!**

  
I was rooted to the spot because of that comment. Never before have I been called a monster, and I suppose that shocked not only me, but my friends and Inari as well.  
While I was still in my little world, contemplating the attribute used against me, I could hear Naruto and Sakura yelling and trying to reach out to me, but to no avail.  
Risa charged at me with her sword, trying to decapitate me, but that was such a stupid move.  
Out of reflex, I merely raised my hand up, stopping the attack with the metal from the back of my fingerless glove, and I glared at her as hard as I could, my vision turning red again.

  
**me: Monster...Huh?  
Risa: Wh-What?! How did you stop my attack?! You didn't even flinch!  
me: A monster...Well, if that's what you want to deal with...THEN FUCKING DIE!**   
  


With a scream of anger, I let the fire spread around completely hectic, chasing her around the room. She could only shriek in fear and agony every time she'd get some fire whip her skin.  
It didn't even take long before she started saying how she wanted to give up.  
  


**me: NO! YOU ARE NOT GIVING UP UNTIL YOU BEG FOR MERCY! I WILL KILL YOU!  
Risa: FINE! FINE! I BEG YOU, PLEASE SPARE ME! HERE, I'M ON MY KNEES TOO! SO PLEASE, HAVE MERCY!  
me: Okay.**   
  


With that, the fire extinguished and I went in front of her, with a close-eyed grin.  
  


 **me: I am not going to kill you. What you do next is your own choice.**  
  
  
After Hayate declared me the winner, I stole one last glance at Risa before I walked up the stairs to my own team, my face as stoic as never before. Risa, however, didn't move from the place, and instead, shaking, she got her sword and committed seppuku in front of everyone, making me smirk in satisfaction.  
  


**me: I said I was not going to kill you...But I never said anything about not forcing you to kill yourself. Loser.  
Kakashi: Did you do that, Kitsune?  
me: Maybe.  
Kakashi: How did you learn to do that?  
me: Fear makes people do weird things, Kakashi. Don't underestimate their fear.  
Kakashi: That was more than fear.   
me: It was...Fun.  
Kakashi: Don't get too hasty with your actions.  
me: They can't defeat a monster, Kakashi.  
Kakashi: You are not one, though.  
me: Everyone has different perspectives in life. Fear is the easiest manipulator. And I love every bit of it.**   
  


Next was Shikamaru's match with the Sound girl, which he beat easily with his shadows. It was honestly so hilarious that I could only laugh at the idiocy of the girl and the match.

And if Shika's match was pretty cool thanks to his intelligence, Naruto only won by...Farting in Kiba's face. To top it all, Hinata offered Naruto a healing ointment, which kinda made him confused but Kurenai urged him to take it nonetheless.

The worst part of it all was the next fight...Hinata vs her ruthless cousin, Neji, who started insulting her and saying how he wants to kill her. He is horrible...The worst of the worst....She was hyperventilating by the time I and Naruto interfered with his speech.  
  


**me: GO, HINATA! DO YOUR BEST! YOU CAN DO IT! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!  
Naruto: DON'T LABEL PEOPLE AS YOU WISH, YOU IDIOT! FINISH HIM, HINATA! HINATA! WHY DON'T YOU SAY ANYTHING BACK?! IT'S MAKING THE PEOPLE WATCHING ANGRY!  
me: Hinata, I know you can do it! You are strong and you trained so much! JUST DO YOUR BEST! We are proud of you no matter what!**   
  


With that, she activated her Byakugan as well, taking a fight stance, ready to face her cousin, who was glaring at her and took the same stance.  
I let the red vision take over so I could see what was going on in their chakra flow, and to make things worst, their circulatory system was in terrible shape. I was biting my hand through the whole thing, trying not to interfere with anything, gripping the railing as she fell to the ground, coughing blood. Neji tried to make her give up, but she slowly got up, saying how she's never going to give, following her ninja way then looked at Naruto and smiled in content.  
  
I could feel tears welling in my eyes as I saw her clench her heart before she could start fighting again, but she stood strong, despite his horrible killing glare. Naruto started encouraging her and so did I, watching her charging at him, giving her best despite all odds being against her.  
Again, she could barely stand, coughing blood, visibly in pain...And yet, she charged again, only to be hit this time with the worst shot so far, making her completely fall to the ground.  
I gasped in anger, a stray tear falling down as I gripped the railing tighter. Hayate wanted to stop the match, but Naruto stopped her and she somehow struggled to get up, despite the fatal blow.  
  


 **me: HINATA! YOU ARE SO STRONG, HINATA!**  
  
  
The sheer determination in her eyes was enough to keep everyone on edge, and as Neji talked about unchanging destiny, she calmly told him that she saw he was suffering much more than her, due to the horrible family feuds.  
This only made him go berserk, charging to kill her, but all Jonins went to stop him before he could do anything.  
  


**Gai: Neji, cut it out. You have made a passionate promise with me that you will not argue about the head family.  
Hyuga: Why did the other Jonin? Does the head family receive special treatment?**   
**me: THE MATCH WAS OVER, YOU MONGREL! YOU WERE GOING TO KILL HER!**   
  


Then, Hinata started coughing blood but before she fell, I teleported behind her, catching her in my arms, slowly putting her head on my lap before she fainted. I opened her jacket, trying to heal her in any minor way I could, but it was no use with my low expertise.

_On the other hand, Neji wasn't done insulting us. What a horrible person he is..._   
  


**Neji: Hey, you dropout. Let me warn you about 2 things. If you are a shinobi, stop with that unsightly cheering for a stranger. And one more thing. A dropout is a dropout, no matter what.**   
  


Before Naruto could say anything, the tears falling down my face triggered something that I couldn't understand- Something so strong that made me punch the Hyuga boy so hard in the chest, just like how he did to Hinata, that he made a hole in the wall behind him.

  
 **me: Hey, you heartless jerk! Let me warn you about 2 things! If you're a shinobi, you have to treasure your comrades, not kill them because of some petty family feud! And, one more thing. People DO change, if they want to! But maybe you're just much too proud to admit that, seeing that you DON'T WANT TO DO SO YOURSELF!**  
  
Letting the fire slowly extinguish, controlling my breathing, I leave the place, following Hinata to the Hospital, making sure she's okay. After all, my team's matches were over. It was a pity that I couldn't see Gaara's and Lee's matches, but this is far more important. The way they spoke, she wouldn't last more than 10 minutes if they did nothing.  
My poor Hinata was in such a terrible shape...How could I ever let such a thing happen? Even more, what if something similar happens when I'm on a mission? If I can't save my comrades or friends? Could I really live with myself?  
No...I have to train...I have to become much stronger...And as well as that, actual healing ninjutsu would prove to be far more handy then I could imagine...  
Yes, that is what I must do...This month, before the 3rd exam, and then all the time in the future, I must grow and become much much stronger...And I know just what to do about it...

I must go train with my friend. He already knew I was a Kasai and chances are he's going to know just how to improve my skills.  
 _My friend, await for me. But until then, Hinata, please stay strong and get out of this alive!_


	6. The End Of An Era

The whole day I spent next to Hinata, forgetting what even breathing was, scared for her health, until Kakashi came in the room and told me the matches that were about to happen and that my match was the 3rd one, against one of the Takigakure girl's, Risa's, teammates and that Choji obviously lost again this other teammate, while the Sound guy won against the other one.

Sighing, I decided it was time to train and with one last glance at my unconscious friend, I kissed her forehead and left home to pack of for my 1-month long journey close to the boarders of Amegakure which thankfully was quite close to Konohagakure.

After about a 2-3 days' run, I got in front of a huge building and started knocking on the wooden door, patiently awaiting for an answer, despite freezing and being soaked by the pouring rain.  
Fortunately, the door was open by none other but the red-head Master of Puppets who taught me so much about his fun jutsus. Seeing me, he smirked and closed his eyes, letting out an amused breathe.  
  


**Sasori: I see that you found me again, Kitsune.  
me: There's nobody better in this world at training than you and the Akatsuki. Figured you might lend me a hand if I needed.  
Sasori: And what made you so sure of that?  
me: *smirks* A fox's intuition, perhaps?  
Sasori: Keh. Very well, come inside. I will call for the others and then we decide what to do with you.  
me: Ah, what a cheerful greeting. It's almost like you missed me.  
Sasori: Only almost.**

  
Chuckling to myself, I step inside, taking off my coat and putting it in the coat hanger then waited quite impatiently for everyone to gather in the main room. 

  
**me: For an impatient person...Uh, puppet, Sasori, I would have expected you to move much faster.  
Sasori: On the other hand, I might just finish this whole ordeal with a bit of poison.  
me: Where would the fun be in that, then?  
Sasori: It would be none.  
Deidara: Who is this, Sasori no Danna?  
Sasori: Just a brat.  
me: *smirks* A brat who you taught some pretty neat tricks, huh?  
Sasori: *nods* And I regret it every day.  
me: Now, now, careful with your words, others might actually believe you.  
Deidara: Then, what's your purpose here, hn?  
me: Ah, well, you see-  
Hidan: Oi, who brought a kid here?! You wouldn't even make for a worthy sacrifice to Jashin-sama!  
me: Uh...Huh?!**

  
I cocked my brow up in confusion, leaning my head and looking at him weirdly and already done with the silver-haired man who already seemed so weird.

  
**me: I don't even have to guess, you're definitely Hidan, the religious freak, 'aight? You're so dull. *shrugs*  
Kakuzu: I like her.  
Hidan: Well, I clearly don't!  
me: Sucks to be you, then. Besides, it's not for you to decide what happens to m-....KISAME!**

  
As soon as the tall blue man stepped into the room, my eyes lit up in glee like stars in the sky and I immediately pushed the Jashinist away, jumping on your old friend and hugging him tightly. He only chuckled and patted my hair, amused by my behaviour, not quite expecting such a sweet reaction just for seeing him.

  
**me: KISAME!!! Kisame, I missed you so much!  
Kisame: Hey, kiddo. Nice seeing you again.  
me: I brought Kasai with me! Which reminds me-**

  
As I brought my fox companion up to Kisame's face so she could enjoy his presence as well, I hear a low voice coming from the other part of the room.

  
**Itachi: Kitsune Kasai. Your presence here means two things. One, you found out about your identity. And two-  
me: *nods* I came here to train. I'm at the last stage of the Chunin exam and there are some pretty promising competitors, one of them being a Hyuga prodigy, a Sunagakure Jinchuriki and...Your brother.  
Itachi: Just as expected.  
Kakuzu: She's a Kasai?  
Deidara: What's a Kasai?  
Sasori: Of course a young brat like you wouldn't know. She herself didn't know until much recently, I presume.  
me: *sweatdrops* Don't blame me, blame the village for keeping it a secret.  
Kisame: *chuckles* You didn't even suspect anything when I told you how to name your fox.  
me: *sighs* Enough teasing, guys. 13 years of being in the darkness was enough, and to be fair, Inari Okami was quite pissed when she found out about the whole ordeal about my clan.**   
**Itachi: Inari Okami, you said?  
me: Uh, yeah, you heard about her?  
Itachi: *nods* Your clan's most powerful deity. If you were chosen by her, then there is really nobody else alive.  
me: *frowns* You make it sounds as if I'm the last option.  
Itachi: She never chose children unless she foresaw true potential in them. You choose to believe which version you prefer.  
me: *pouts* I find it highly irritating that you know more than I do.  
Itachi: It is natural. I am older than you, after all.  
me: The way I see it, supposedly, both Deidara and Hidan are older than me, and yet, they're as clueless as I am.  
Kisame: Maybe, but Itachi was a ninja from your village, correct? And most of us here have fought a Kasai before.  
me: Wait, really?! You never told me that!  
Kisame: *chuckles* I didn't tell you many things. You were much too young to understand and you might have resented your village if you suddenly found out.  
me: Urgh...You're...Not wrong.  
Kakuzu: If this child is a Kasai, then she has endless potential.   
me: Like...The weird fire chakra? The speed? Uh...Oh, and the mind control thingy?  
Kakuzu: That's not exactly mind control.  
me: I don't know what it is, but in the preliminary matches, the girl I fought against pissed me off and after scaring and burning her and I was declared the winner, I looked at her...And she started screaming, shaking and...  
Kakuzu: She killed herself?  
me: Seppuku. Yes.  
Deidara: That sounds so cool, yeah!  
me: *chuckles nervously* It is, but I'd like to actually control it, not wait until I'm angry enough for it to trigger itself.  
Kisame: Don't worry, Kitsune, we'll find out something.  
me: Thank you...But there's someone missing, isn't it? Your Leader, I think? And the woman?  
Hidan: *grumbles* And the stupid plant.  
me: Sorry, what?  
Deidara: He means Zetsu, hn. He's like this...Huge Venus Fly Trap.  
me: What the actual-**   
  


From behind me, a calm voice was heard saying _**"We are Zetsu"**_ , which made me yelp in surprise and turn around, looking at the weird black and white individual.

  
**me: Uh...Hello, Zetsu?  
Zetsu: _She lacks any kind of manners_ \- ** _ Don't be rude, she's just new here. _   
**me: You...Uh...Okay, nevermind, I think I get this. Nice to meet you both.  
Zetsu: _That's more like it_ -** _Cut her some slack!_ **- _No._  
me: *chuckles* You are far better company than the weird guy with the triangle necklace.  
Hidan: HEY! I HEARD YA!  
me: That was the point, idiot!  
Hidan: *fuming* I'LL SHRED YOU TO PIECES!  
me: Oh, but you cannot, can you?  
Hidan: Why couldn-  
Kisame: No fighting in the hideout. Leader would be incredibly angry.  
Hidan: Who cares about what Leader says?!  
me: *shrugs* I don't even know him, but if he's the Leader, I wouldn't want him pissed at me, y'know?  
-?-: Wise choice.**   
  


Hearing the dark monotonous voice coming from the stairs, we look at the orange haired man stepping down along with a blue haired gorgeous woman. They looked far more intimidating than the others, but the bluenette somehow gave off a kind vibe, despite the stoic face she sported.   
She came in front of me, cupped my face and raised it, making me look at her directly in the eyes, getting quite rosy in the cheeks, before she nodded and made an origami flower, putting it my hair, resuming her place next to the Leader, whose name I learnt is Pein.

  
 **Pein: So you are the famous Kitsune Kasai. Welcome to the Akatsuki.  
me: I didn't know I was that famous?  
Pein: You are a Kasai. Your Hokage tried to keep you hidden and bound by your faith. Have you never felt like you didn't belong there? Or that they were all hiding something from you?  
me: *looks down* Of course I did, but what was I to do? I asked them all, even the Hokage, about my family, but they just said that they died and...That's it. No last name, no clan, no history- Nothing at all!  
Pein: Were you not curious?  
me: I was. It is my heritage, after all. But at the same time, I was much more focused on training and becoming stronger. I figured that if Naruto didn't know much about his parents and could still strive forwards, then why couldn't I as well?  
Pein: In your situation, however, your powers lay in you learning to control your kekkei genkai.  
me: I realised that when I somehow managed to connect with my subconscious deity. It was like a new world opened in front of me. A new perspective and a new me.  
Pein: Your village only held you back, but here, you won't have to restrain yourself. Unleash all your powers and rage when you train, control and use your intent to kill, otherwise you won't prevail in any way.  
me: Roger that.  
Pein: Very well. I heard you will only be staying for a month. We shall discuss the terms for you being allowed to train.  
me: I...Wasn't aware of any terms.**  
 **Pein: Desert your village and join us. This way, you will be able to pay us back for training you.  
me: Wh-What?! Betray the village?! How could I possibly do something as outrageous as that?!  
Pein: Cut a horizontal line across your forehead protector an-  
me: No! You can't expect me to do that! They lied to me, I agree, but they still raised and took care of me. Besides, you sound like a hypocrite! You expect me to desert my village, and yet here you are, Amegakure's Leader! You wouldn't betray your people, despite some silly line cut in a forehead protector, and neither would I.  
Pein: If that's your decision, then goodbye, Kitsune Kasai.  
me: Very well. If that's how it is, then it's everyone's loss, if you ask me. I won't help you with any missions and I won't get to be trained by the best. *shrugs* Well, bummer. I'll just go ask someone else.  
Pein: . . .  
Konan: Pein, do you really think it's wise to let her go away when we've tried for so long to acquire her?  
Pein: No.   
Konan: Then what are you going to do?  
Pein: *closes his eyes* We will re-discuss the terms of you joining us after your examination is over. Think of this as a free trial for your trainings and in our case, a way to see if you truly live up to your name. Dismissed.**  
  
As the two left back to their office, you turned around, smirking in victory.

  
**me: Well...That wasn't so bad, now, was it?  
Kisame: *chuckles* Better go rest, squiddo. After such a day, you need it. Besides, we start early in the morning so better be prepared for the worst.  
me: Honestly? After fighting against Zabuza Momochi and almost dying, nothing scares me anymore.  
Kisame: You fought against one of the Seven Greatest Swordsmen of Kirigakure?  
me: Apparently. He's dead. Kakashi made sure of that.  
Kisame: Impressive.  
me: *shrugs* More or less. Anyways, where do I sleep? I'm exhausted.  
Kisame: I think rooming with Itachi would be okay?  
Itachi: *nods* Very well.  
me: Good night everyone! Except for Hidan- You can go die in a hole.  
Hidan: WHY, YOU, BITC-  
Kakuzu: *punches him* Shut up or I kill you.  
Hidan: AS IF YOU COULD!**

  
As Itachi lead me to his room, I looked weirdly at him, not quite understanding the whole thing about Hidan and Kakuzu.

  
**me: Kakuzu is stronger than Hidan, isn't he? Why couldn't he kill him, then?  
Itachi: They are both immortal.  
me: *eyes widen* Immortal? Such things exist?  
Itachi: Seems that way.  
me: Weird...And pretty cool, I guess.**   
  


As soon as I got in the room, I went to the bathroom, taking a shower and dressing in my sleeping wear then went in the warm bed, sighing. Looking to my right, I see Itachi wearing comfortable clothes, no longer in his Akatsuki cloak or with his Sharingan activated. He looked sorrowful, despite his stoic face, and yet, at peace, reading.

  
**me: Itachi...Why did you kill them? You must have had a reason. You never did reckless things out of spite or just because...Because...  
Itachi: Why I did it should be none of your concern, Kitsune Kasai. It is in the past, and the past remains there.  
me: Killing all the Uchihas...Your mother, your father...But not your brother. It was nothing random and it couldn't be revenge.  
Itachi: Stop pushing an unnecessary subject.  
me: You cherish your brother more than anything else in this world, I believe. You've always had such a strong bond...  
Itachi: Kitsune...  
me: It's too bad that he hates you so much that he's willing to desert the village and join Orochimaru-**   
**Itachi: He what?!  
me: Knew it. Your motive must have been extremely important for you to leave your brother all alone.  
Itachi: Were you lying?  
me: Not quite. During the 2nd Chunin exam, in the Forest of Death-  
Itachi: Were you in his team?  
me: No. I went solo. Team 7 is indeed made out of myself, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto, training under Kakashi-senpai, but there cannot be a team with more than 3 people in the exam so...  
Itachi: You competed the way I did.  
me: *smiles* I heard you completed in in less than 6 hours. Impressive. And a new record.  
Itachi: Perhaps.  
me: I finished it in a bit more than 4 hours...But, there were two significant problems. One of them- The Sand team, with the Jinchuriki, finished it in 97 minutes. The boy wasn't even touched. It was like he just teleported the the headquarters.**   
**Itachi: *nods* That is peculiar.  
me: And Sasuke's team got attacked by Orochimaru, who was disguised as a Genin taking place in the exam.  
Itachi: Orochimaru?  
me: Yes. I wasn't there, I only found out later when Sakura told me what happened. She told me that this Orochimaru put some kind of bruise...Seal...Thingy on him and he said that Sasuke will come to him willingly for power.  
Itachi: That Orochimaru always tried to get his hands on the Sharingan. He saw he couldn't face me, so now he is after Sasuke.  
me: *nods* Yes. And even more, it seems like Sasuke is actually tempted to join him. With that seal, he saw a glimpse of the powers awaiting and he claimed to be an avenger. So, you see, I might not be entirely sure of what's going on, but I wasn't lying either.  
Itachi: *sighs* I wasn't hoping for that to happen. But to grow, Sasuke needs help and I don't know how many people in Konoha would be able to help him, especially since you say he awakened his Sharingan.  
me: You should have been there to help him, just like how Shisui was there for you. It's just...Unfortunate.  
Itachi: It is. And there is nothing to be done about it. I have already accepted my fate.  
me: Fate is never set in stone. You know what they say about the Butterfly effect, Itachi. Who knows, maybe magic is real.  
Itachi: Perhaps, but not for me. Now rest, we have talked more than we should have.  
me: Good night, Itachi. I'm here for you, just like you were for me in that one year.**   
  


Needless to say, for the whole month I trained more than I ever had thus far and the feeling of satisfaction was going beyond any known borders. With Itachi's help and meditation, I even learnt how to control my anger and balance it with peacefulness, in a way to focus my inner fire and use it at will, not just with the help of rage triggers, and as well as that, the chaotic amount of chakra in and outtakes have been significantly tempered, no longer feeling exhausted after using it, since it's used with moderation now-  
Thankfully, this increased my stamina and ninjutsu power drastically, which makes me very happy.

Honestly, I didn't even realise how this month passed so fast with all my time occupied with training, meditation and sometimes hanging out with Kisame and enjoying a nice tea while standing in the middle of the lake, enjoying the chilly breeze.

Unfortunately, the time went by in a hurry and all I could do was feel a tad sad for having to leave the place, but I promised to come back as soon as possible and return to my training and happy life that I experienced.

When I got back in Konoha at the 3rd Exam Venue, I see that the matches were about to start, but Sasuke was still not there. My first enemy, however, the Takigakure boy, Kazuto, was glaring daggers at me. Maybe cause I made his teammate kill herself?  
Who knows.  
  
Looking around, the Sand Siblings were relaxed while everyone else seemed quite tense as Naruto's match against Neji began.

  
**me: Okay, guys! Let's make bets! Let's bet who will win! Who will win? Just 50 Ryo per bet!  
Kankuro: Oi, missy, are you really betting on these matches?  
me: Why else would I shout in the waiting room?  
Kankuro: *shrugs* Then, I'll make my bets. The Hyuga boy, our Gaara, my sister...And, as much as I hate to admit, maybe you.  
me: Awwww, Neko-chan, are you betting on me? That's so sweet! Why, you make me feel more motivated to win!  
Kazuto: As if you could! Risa might have been a weakling, but I'm far superior to her!  
Kankuro: *raises an eyebrow* Didn't seem that way in the preliminaries.  
Kazuto: I didn't have a proper match then. I will make you all acknowledge m-  
me: BORING! Next bet, everyone!  
Kankuro: Who do you bet on?  
me: Eh...Naruto, Gaara, Shikamaru...**   
**Kankuro: *smirks* And~?  
me: Er-Ergh...Well...  
Shikamaru: I bet on Neji, Gaara and Kitsune.  
me: Bless you, Shika! You're officially my best friend!  
Shika: *smirks* Thought I already was.  
me: Then...Special best friend!  
Shika: *shrugs* Sounds good I guess.  
me: Anyone else? Bets?! Bets!  
Temari: That's just foolish, you know?  
me: Maybe, but it's pretty fun, y'know? What else could we do while we wait for our turn?  
Temari: Guess so.**

  
During the match, however, Kasai jumped in my arms and tried to hide her head under my chin, in a way to alert me about the incoming danger. This made me sit on the railing and look around the arena, trying to spot anyone suspicious, but all I saw was some weird ANBU. Why would the ANBU be in such a place? Hn...  
The highlight of the day, however, was Naruto's win, which made me shriek in happiness, jumping on Shikamaru and fist-bumping the air in victory.  
Then, I remembered that he owed me money and I went backward, smiling sheepishly and scratching the back of my neck, to which he only laughed and handed me 10 Ryo.  
  
 **Kankuro: You, Konoha Genins, are sure lively and friendly with each other.  
me: Of course we are. We are friends, after all. That's how you create great bonds and immaculate teamwork, y'know?  
Kankuro: Maybe so, but it also makes you weak and vulnerable.  
me: That's just your wrong opini-...Ahh, I get it now~! Neko-chan spends so much time with his scary puppets that he never had a friend! Awww, you're so sweet~! Come here, I will be your friend!  
Kankuro: *cringes* Don't be stupid! I don't need a friend or anything idiotic like that.  
me: *pouts* Well, that's a pity, you know. I was really hoping we could be friends. Same with Temari and Gaara.  
Kankuro: *mumbles* You wouldn't want that...  
Temari: Enough chit-chat, it's Gaara's match.**

  
As soon as Naruto got up, I hugged him tightly and told him that I'll treat him to ramen when this is over. This glee, however, was easily erased since Sasuke didn't arrive and it was still his match.  
Thankfully, the Hokage managed to post-pone his match so by default-

  
**me: *smirks* So, it's my turn, eh~?  
Naruto: SHOW THEM WHAT KONOHA IS MADE OF, KITSU-CHAN!  
me: *diva pose* HELL YES! Neko-chan, would you oh so sweetly cheer for me~?  
Kankuro: *scoffs* In your dreams.   
me: *winks* The sweetest.**

  
Making a victory pose, I hand Kasai over to Shikamaru and use my fire to teleport in the middle of the venue, doing a mock courtesy, feeling a huge adrenaline rush from all the loud cheers. After all...Everyone came here to see the matches of the Last Kasai and the Uchiha Survivor!

  
**Genma: Well then, let the match begin.  
Kitsune: IT'S SHOW TIME, EVERYONE!  
everyone: *cheers*  
Kazuto: *angry* I'm going to tear you LIMB FROM LIMB!  
me: Ah...Okay. Good luck with that, kid.  
Kazuto: I'M OLDER THAN YOU!  
me: Yeah, I can obviously see that, grandpa. Bet even my grandpa would move faster than you. Oh, wait ... he's dead! *laughs*  
Kazuto: YOU, INSOLENT-...!  
me: TAG! You're it~!**

  
Using my foxfire, I teleport behind him, tapping him on the shoulder and sticking my tongue at him playfully, only teleporting back when he'd try to hit me, clearly annoyed by how he couldn't do much.  
After the 5th try, he jumped back and did some rapid water style movements, creating a thick, acidic mist, which at this point only made me laugh at such a petty attempt. After fighting Zabuza, a water-user, nothing surprised me anymore.  
Activating the fire shield, I do a simple wind jutsu to dissipate the mist and grin a my opponent. I was just going to toy with him a bit more by easily dodging his jutsus so I could finally have my fun and impress the crowd.

Panting, he did more jutsus creating three huge sharks that were directed towards me, but I only jumped backwards and using the chakra focused on the soles of my feet, I went on the venue's walls and with some graceful ballet-like moves, dodged everything, clearly intimidating my enemy.  
This game continued with many more supposedly great water-jutsus that were supposed to surpass and dominate my fire, but there is only one Kitsune Kasai in this place!

  
**me: Are you done yet? I want to show off too, y'know? Everyone came here to see me, not you, you are aware of that, right?  
Kazuto: Sh-Shut up!  
me: Well, then, let the curtains raise! TAKE THIS!**

  
Raising my arms in a God-like manner, making the fire spread out around me so high that it amazed everyone, then the fire took the shape of a giant, menacing fox that bared its teeth at the enemy and started chasing him around, breathing fire and leaping around him, playing with him.  
I felt like I was the Caesar at the Colosseum, pitting a common, weaponless slave against a pack of starving lions, but his weak attempts at extinguishing the fox only made the chakra creature angrier.  
When I had enough, I dismissed the fox and whistled for Kazuto, making him look directly into my now red eyes, which completely entrapped him into my Genjutsu.

I made him approach me, then made him fall on his knees, begging for mercy. I only petted his head and made him raise with my chakra strings, making his dance and twirl around gracefully, as the chakra strings started burning, and with them, him too.  
I let him escape the strings and the Genjutsu when he almost more than half his clothing lit on fire, watching nonchalantly to see what he'd do.  
The idiot, instead of yelling that he gives up or something, just...Screamed in shock and tried to pat away the flames, completely forgetting that he was a water user.

Facepalming, I sigh at his idiocy and with the little water style I could use, made it rain a bit above him.   
He was on the ground, panting furiously, fanning his face and crying.

  
**me: Why don't you give up, Kazuto. You can't defeat me. You almost turned to ashes.  
Kazuto: I...I panicked...I....You...Such power...So scary...! I have never seen anything as cruel and chaotically destructive as this!  
me: I'm a Kasai, this is what I do. Give up, Kazuto, or I will have to kill you.  
Kazuto: No...!  
me: You can't defeat me. Face the truth, already! I don't want to kill you and there is no use in trying to show off for the people if you don't even try to be a decent opponent. Besides, there is always Gaara, who's going to prove to be the real challenge, not some petty kid like you.  
Kazuto: Such shame...I brought shame to myself and to my village by being defeated by some frail girl!  
me: Ah...Really? It's not my fault you're weak. Go home and train, just do better next time and hope you won't get put against a high-level Konoha ninja. Besides, if you take it as a mission, everyone fails, it's no big deal. It's always a next time. As long as you are okay and the rest of your teammates are the same...If you DO have teammates, then you can always try again. There's no rush. There's always going to be someone much more powerful than you, after all.  
Kazuto: THERE WILL BE NO NEXT TIME! I WILL NOT LIVE WITH SUCH SHAME!  
me: It's not about power! A Chunin doesn't have to be the most powerful, but to have the brains and know the requirements for it!  
Kazuto: NO MORE! I CAN'T BEAR THIS PAIN! This...THIS SHAME! I'm sorry, Risa! I have failed you!**

  
His scream of anguish made me widen my eyes in surprise at his outburst and before I knew it, he cut his own throat, falling on the ground with one last cry.  
I could only blink in confusion at his ridiculous behaviour, as I went next to him, nudging him in the ribs with my foot.  
  
 **me: Uh...He's dead. I guess I win?  
Genma: Winner of this match, Kasai Kitsune.  
me: *shrugs* Well, that was boring. **  
  
And with the most bored face I've ever had, I poof back to the waiting area, where I got immediately hugged by Naruto who said I was cool and all that.

  
**Kankuro: Well then, I guess you owe me some money, ey?  
me: Cause I won?**   
**Kankuro: I won the bet on your match.  
me: As if there was any doubt. Anyways, I basically don't owe you anything, since you didn't give me the money for Naruto's match.  
Kankuro: Keh, fine.   
Genma: Next match, Kankuro versus Aburame Shino.  
Kankuro: I give up!  
me: I beg your pardon?  
Kankuro: Yeah, I give up, whatever. I'm not up for the match.  
me: Was that only so you could win the bet? Maybe I would have chosen you, y'know?  
Kankuro: Why me? I was against your so called friend, right?  
me: And you retreated because you were afraid of him? I highly doubt that. You are not the type to give up so easily, especially in front of someone who's younger than you.  
Kankuro: What's it to ya?! It's none of your business and we're not even friends! Scatter off, scrub!  
me: *narrows eyes* Is that why you can't make any friends? No wonder Gaara loathes you. With such a dull, problematic personality like yours, it's only unders-**

  
But before I could finish my sentence, he grabbed me by the neck of my Tshirt, getting in my face, glaring at me.

  
**Kankuro: Stop this stupid friend-facade! Just learn that you can't make friends with everyone! It's stupid! You're a ninja, not some friendship fun club! The world is made of wars and fighting, not love and understanding! Get it through your thick skull already!**   
**Gaara: Kankuro! That's enough.  
Kankuro: Tsk! But Gaara, she's been pestering us for far too long! She needs to get a piece of my mind already!  
me: Or maybe you're just afraid to admit that I'm right and that there are other ways to live your life, other than in fear and hatred. Is that it? You've always had your siblings around you and thought that if you're always together, that's enough? Well, maybe it isn't, since the whole world isn't only them, but many that you influence, and in turn, influence you. That's how the world is. That is the Butterfly Effect.  
Kankuro: You think some stupid ineffective theory named after a bug is going to change the world that we live in?  
me: With that attitude, no. After all, it's us, people, that can change it, not a bug. Besides, the theory doesn't refer to a bug, but everyone's actions and their consequences, and on that note, the infinite possibilities that come from the derivatives of different paths we take. Clearly, since you're so narrow-minded, you wouldn't ever be able to understand that.   
Kankuro: A kid like you thinks she knows about the real world, but instead, you're just an idiot who was never in a real-life mission!  
me: I think you're just too afraid of change. Who is threatening you, Kankuro? Who is stopping you from growing?  
Kankuro: SHUT UP ALREADY!  
Temari: Kankuro, calm down!  
Gaara: Stop making a scene, or I'll kill you. You've done enough, already.  
Kankuro: Tsk. That's why I hate kids.  
Temari: Anyways, it's my match now, so stop acting like an idiot.**   
  


Slapping his hand away from your Tshirt, I look at Kankuro suspiciously once more, before I turn around, joining Naruto in watching Shikamaru's match, which turned out to be extremely fascinating to watch due to its intelligent scheming and plannings, but of course, he knows his limit, so he gave up, despite actually winning.

I smirked in satisfaction, happy that Shika won, in essence, but when I saw Naruto jump down, scolding him, I sigh in annoyance and go down as well, putting Naruto in a choke-hold and congratulating my friend, who let out an amused  breath, obviously knowing that I was aware of his reasoning.  


It took a while until Sasuke and Kakashi finally arrived, but when they did, the whole venue started cheering in excitement that they will finally see the most-awaited match of the tournament. It took a bit of teasing and all that, but after wishing Sasuke good luck and offering him a thumbs up, I hook my arms with Shikamaru and Naruto and we return on our way back to the waiting area. Just as we were about to finish climbing up the last stairs, we see Gaara ruthlessly killing 2 Kusagakure ninjas who were trying to attack him for some bets.  
My breath hitched in my throat watching him kill them with his sand because of _**BETS**_ , and my grip on Shikamaru's hand tightened without even realising.

After he was done with those two, the red-head slowly walks towards us to climb down the stairs, looking down in a dangerous manner, killing-intent and blood-lust emanating around him.  
I bit my lip hard trying to draw some courage, and just before he could get much past us, I turn around, looking at him, trying to vanish the concerned look on my face, replaced by a friendly one, offering him a close-eyed sweet grin.

  
 **me: Gaara! Good luck with your match! Show them that you don't have to be an Uchiha to be cool, strong or appreciated!**  
  
He didn't say anything as he stopped in his tracks, looking directly into my eyes. Surprisingly, he didn't show any hostility towards the 3 of us, and only offered the ghost of a nod and a grunt of approval as he continued on his way down to the venue.  
After he was completely out of our sights, we all fell down on the stairs, breathing in relief.

  
**Naruto: Kitsune-chan, what the hell was that?! Don't you want Sasuke to win?!  
me: Well...Yes, I do, but don't you think someone should at least say something nice to him? What if that was you, Naruto? Everyone thought Neji was going to win because he is a Hyuga. They were all cheering for him. And yet? You won! You had a motive and a strong belief and as well as that, you had your friends to encourage you. You were not fighting by yourself. But him? He's more alone than we've ever been.  
Naruto: Mhmm...I know...He reminds me of myself a lot...What if I ended up like him? Hateful and all that?  
me: That's the thing I'm talking about. You are very alike, but still so different. You managed to get people to acknowledge you through your hard-work and effort. You managed to make friends, despite being sometimes obnoxious. But him? Did you see what he did to Lee? Did you see the record he did on the 2nd exam? He's obviously amazing, and yet, even his own brother and sister are scared of him and don't want to be around him. Don't you think that's painful?  
Shika: He mentioned his father tried to assassinate him multiple times since he turned 6 years old.  
me: *gasps* What?! When was that?!  
Shika: Yesterday I and Naruto went to visit the ones in the hospital and we noticed sand going to Lee's room. He was going to finish what he started, then somehow snapped and told us some troublesome things before he finally left.  
Naruto: It was kinda scary.  
me: *sighs* I'm not even surprised, to be honest. Maybe I'm a bit afraid of him...But y'know? I also pity him. I wish I could be his friend, just so I could make sure he finds out what beauty and happiness is. He...Seems to lack any basic positive knowledge.**

  
Finishing my sentence, I sigh and return to the waiting area, jump to sit on the railing and lean on the wall, dangling my leg on the other side, with Kasai in my lap, watching the match with a sad expression.  
No matter who you root for, it ends up wrong. Is this like one of those horrible missions where you have to choose between two evils and see which is the lesser one, and no matter what, you still end up regretting your whole existence?

_Because if it is, I'm already dreading it._


	7. A Precious Hug

Contrary to everyone's expectations- Yes, Sasuke was amazing and his Sharingan managed to help him both learn all of Lee's best taijutsu moves, helped with his practiced speed, but also, Kakashi taught him the famous Chidori, and frankly, I'm very much jealous.  
I have to pressure him into teaching me as well now...

Then again, the match itself was quite...Peculiar.  
Gaara's sand, in the end, engulfed him in a spiky ball that kept attacking the Uchiha, until from a small hole, a huge arm leaped out to injure him, which...Was nowhere close to being his sand, that is.  
Something was definitely _**EXTREMELY**_ wrong, especially after seeing his brother and sister so anxious and scared...As if something is not going as planned, or Gaara is doing something dangerous.

I didn't try to interrogate them, knowing well that they wouldn't say a word, but I continued watching the match, holding a tight grip on Kasai.  
Something tells me that this desperation, Gaara talking to himself and his trembling have something to do with him being a Jinchuriki, if Inari Okami is correct...Which she most likely is.

The problem is, after the Raikiri hit the sand ball, Sasuke was visibly shook  and sweating, as a creepy shriek emanated from Gaara...But it clearly didn't sound like him.   
After the sand disappeared, revealing a panting, bleeding red-head, Temari and Kankuro started talking about him.  
But before anything could happen, a mass-sleeping Genjutsu took over the stadium as an explosion took place in the Hokage-box.  
Seeing the state he was in, his siblings jumped next to him, so I took it as a sign that it was clear that I could too, so I jumped in front of Sasuke, protectively.

  
**Sasuke: What's going on?**  
**me: Nothing good.**  
 **Temari: Gaara, stop!**  
 **Gaara: I'll kill you...!**  
 **Kankuro: There's no point in fighting anymore. Don't forget the mission!**  
 **Gaara: Out of my way...!**  
 **me: Gaara...Calm down, please.**

  
But before Gaara could move towards us, the Sand Jonin came in front of them, telling them that the mission started. So, this was all an elaborate plan to attack Konoha? Thankfully, Genma jumped in front of us too, in a way to protect us.

  
**Sasuke: Just what the hell is going on?  
me: Guys! Why did you do this? Konoha and Suna had an alliance, why did you have to attack us? We were supposed to be friends!**

  
But apparently Gaara was incredibly wounded and lacked the needed chakra for this plan, seeing that he fell to his knees, clutching his head in agony. Kankuro was obviously enraged at the whole situation while Temari was shook, as Baki ordered them to leave and heal their little brother.  
The Suna Jonin thought he could keep us here, but Genma told us to pursue them as far as we could, but not do anything dangerous, as he took care of this dubious guy.

  
**me: Genma! Take care of yourself too, alright?  
Genma: Don't worry about me. Now go!**

  
Nodding at him, I grab Sasuke's wrist and we both dart off after the Sand Siblings, not minding Baki's easily parried attack towards us.  
We ran for a while, until we noticed a bit of Gaara's sand on the ground, which was an obvious piece of evidence that we were going the right way.  
Jumping on high tree branches, we could see their pace picking up slightly, until we actually managed to get to them. But we couldn't go on because Temari made Kankuro go on with Gaara while she was to stop us in any way she could.  
I tried to persuade her, but she only used her fan to try to cut us. Thankfully, I'm a fire user, so I could manage to throw her off her game a tad. Sasuke saw what I was doing so he started using the same tricks, but what she didn't realise is that the trap she thought would stop us backfired, as we put an exploding seal in our Kawarimi jutsu, making her fall on the ground, exhausted, so we could continue our hot pursuit.

Took a while, but we managed to catch up with a low-key tired Kankuro, only to be shocked by Temari appearing again by their side.

  
**Kankuro: Temari, I thought they beat you.**  
**Temari: So did I, but I got here, somehow. But I couldn't stop them at all.**  
 **Kankuro: It was enough for Gaara to recover some chakra.**  
 **me: Guys, we don't have to fight, y'know? We can talk this out-**  
 **Kankuro: No, we can't! The deed is done already! We can't do anything about it!**  
 **me: Yes, we can! Technically, you did nothing wrong, even if the others associated with you did!**  
 **Kankuro: SHUT UP! NOT EVERYTHING CAN GO THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO GO!**  
 **me: But that's how YOU want it to go too! You are young, neither of you wants wars or bloodshed! We can-**  
 **Kankuro: Shut up, you twerp! Just, SHUT UP! Temari, take Gaara and leave! You can't fight anymore!**  
 **Temari: But-**  
 **Kankuro: Just go! Hurry up and go! Seems like I'll finally get to fight you, missy.**  
 **Shino: No. I am your opponent.**  
 **me: Ah...! Shino! Yes, this couldn't be any better!**  
 **Shino: Indeed. Uchiha Sasuke, Kasai Kitsune, you go after Gaara and fight him. Since my opponent forfeited, it is my chance to fight him.**  
 **me: Break his legs, Shino! Show him that Konoha ninjas are the strongest!**  
 **Sasuke: Heh. You sound confident, but will you be okay?**  
 **Shino: Don't worry about me. Give me 10 minutes, and I'll go after you.**  
 **Sasuke: *smirks* In 10 minutes I'll be done.**  
 **me: Hell yes! Break him, Shino! Sasuke, let's go! Sucks to be you, Barbie boy!**  
  
  
Unfortunately for some, I and Sasuke managed to easily catch up with them, but by the time we got there, Gaara tried to make her leave, since she was injured, but perhaps he hit her a bit too hard since she slammed in a tree.

  
  
**Sasuke: I don't know what you Suna guys are planning, but I'll stop you. And I'll determine what your identity is.**  
**me: Gaara, we don't have to fight! Please, I wouldn't want to fight against a friend!**  
 **Temari: Stop, Gaara! Have you forgotten the plan?!**  
 **Gaara: You are both strong...You are called Kasai and Uchiha...You both have friends and goals...You are similar to me. By killing you, I can exist in this world as the one who erased your existences! You are my...!**

  
But before he could finish his monologue, he fell on his knees, screaming in agony as the sand on him started breaking heavily, struggling as if against invisible shackles as he tried to finish his previous reply with the word **"prey"**.

To be fair, it hurt to see him in so much pain, but there wasn't anything I could really do, apart from trying to say soothing words, and yet, even those were left unheard.  
  
The same kind of weird arm that appeared during Sasuke's match seemed to cover now half of Gaara's whole body and he lunged at us with a horrifying killing intent, destroying the tree we were sitting on.  
Temari was scared beyond belief, since she seemed to already know this form of his, but Sasuke and I were shocked into oblivion.  
  
So, this is a Jinchuriki's power? This ominous chakra, the raw strength, the glare, they're all terrifying...And yet, behind this killing machine facade, there lay a small, innocent child, alone and frightened.  
  
_**It was a pitiful view.**_

We could only jump from branch to branch, trying to come up with a plan to defeat him, as he kept calling us his prey.

Sasuke's somehow petty attempts at trying to hurt him didn't quite work, but I didn't know what I could do-  
I didn't want to hurt him, but at the same time, I think that the only way to get him back to reality would be to beat this weird form of his until it disappears.

So many trees destroyed for the sake of a meaningless fight as this possessed Gaara tried to attack us However, it seemed like these taunts were more directed to Sasuke and the hate that he harbours inside, which seemed to provoke him more than anything.

  
**me: Sasuke! Don't let him provoke you!**  
 **Sasuke: I'll finish him off in one strike!**  
 **me: SASUKE! DON'T!**

  
But he wouldn't listen and using his Chidori, he cut the Jinchuriki arm in two, but to no effect, since Gaara just got up and started laughing like a maniac and somehow grew a huge sand tail. This just makes me believe that if we continue this way, he's going to fully transform into... _Something_...

I couldn't stay passive any longer and as Gaara lunged at Sasuke, I jumped in front of him, making him look me in the eyes which made him widen his eyes and fall down, screaming in surprise.  
It seems like the Mind Control jutsu was a success, since I could stop his attack, but it didn't take long, since he just leaped back and with such a glare, a horrible entity went into my mind, making a shrill shriek that made me terrified, loosing balance, and before I could do anything, I was slammed into many trees, which thankfully, allowed Sasuke to proceed with his 2nd Chidori.

But...I never expected something like that to happen...By going into Gaara's mind, I didn't feel him, but the monster residing inside of him, which made everything worse.  
After Sasuke's attack, the cursed seal on his neck acted up, not letting him move from the branch he fell on, so I jumped in front of him, getting ready to strike, but the #1 surprising blond appeared out of nowhere, kicking him in the face.

  
**me: Sakura! Naruto! You shouldn't be here!**  
**Sakura: Kakashi-sensei sent us here!**  
 **me: Horrible decision, really. How are things going back there?**  
 **Sakura: It's outright chaos!**  
 **me: Goddamn it...**  
 **Naruto: Kitsune-chan...**  
 **me: Sasuke, stay down! That seal is killing you!**  
 **Naruto: Kitsune-chan! Who the hell is that?!**  
 **me: THAT'S GAARA, YOU IDIOT! How could you not recognise him?! Anyways...Sakura-chan, take care of Sasuke, please! Make sure he doesn't do anything. He's at his limit.**  
 **Gaara: Yes...You are that guy I tried to kill...**  
 **me: Gaara, please, calm down!**  
 **Naruto: RUN, EVERYONE!**  
  
But before Gaara could get to hit Sasuke, Sakura got a kunai to protect him, making him pin her with his arm on a tree.

  
**me: SAKURA?!**  
**Naruto: What the hell are you doing?!**  
 **me: GAARA! RELEASE MY FRIEND! I BEG YOU!**

  
He seemed to be in pain after seeing Sakura protect Sasuke, so I did my best shot by slowly approaching him like I would a baby fawn, extending my hand towards him, in a calming attempt.  
He seemed to be crying without realising as I put my arms around him tightly, saying kind words to calm him down.

The problem was that after waking up from that state, he used his sand to push me away, slamming me into a tree, from which I quickly recovered, whilst Naruto tried to make Gaara stop hurting Sakura, but he only put more pressure on her, making her gasp for air, despite her unconscious state, as he started laughing again.

  
**Gaara: That's why you guys are so weak. You have no reason to fight, a reason to exist. Forget about your stupid friends! People who bring emotions on the battlefield just beg to die!**  
**Naruto: I'LL DEFEAT YOU!**  
 **Gaara: You guys don't know what's like to be strong!**  
  
Naruto tried to jump-kick him, but his tail acted up, slamming him.  
Surprisingly, Naruto did the Kuchiyose handseals, which I had no idea he knew, but nothing significant came out...Just a small, bratty frog.  
This just made Gaara almost completely transform, which made Inari Okami give me an even bigger warning.  
As Gaara used the sand shuriken on us, Naruto hugged the toad to protect it while I did a fire wall to stop all attacks with ease.  
His eyes were pooling with loneliness and sorrow, despite having taken the shape of Monster inside him.

This whole hell dragged on much longer, until Gaara completely transformed into, what Inari Okami called it, Shukaku of the Sand, and seeing Naruto proceed with much more ambition with the Kuchiyose, I followed his moves, so we could both summon two immense contract companions, him a frog and I a fox called Moeru, weirdly similar-looking to Kasai, who I was taught by Itachi and Kisame that she was actually a contract baby and shouldn't have been left out in the open, but took a liking to me. The little jerk can apparently even talk, but is much too shy to even try.

Naruto's Toad Boss oddly reminded me of Jiraiya, the other Legendary Sannin, from what Kakashi told me, since apparently, he is the author of Icha Icha Paradise.  
_**Oh, the agony.**_

  
**me: Hello, Moeru! Ready for this fight?!**  
**Moeru: As always.**  
 **Naruto: Toad boss, will you fight with me?**  
 **Toad Boss: Nope.**  
 **Naruto: WHAAAAT?!**  
 **Moeru: Eh~? What is it, Gamabunta, too old for a good ol' fight?**  
 **Toad Boss: That's stupid. Why do I have to fight that guy?**  
 **Moeru: Toad Boss they call you now, ey?**  
 **Toad Boss: We haven't even had a drink yet!**  
 **Naruto: WHAT?! FORGET ABOUT THAT NOW, I'M NOT EVEN 20, I CAN'T DRINK ALCOHOL!**  
 **Gamakichi: Pops, listen to this guy! That weirdo was picking on me and this guy helped me out.**  
 **Naruto: POPS?! YOU ARE FATHER AND SON?!**  
 **Moeru: They have the same annoying face, y'know.**  
 **Toad Boss: What?!**  
 **Gamakichi: He managed to fight that guy equally. This one is pretty interesting!**  
 **Toad Boss: I see.**  
 **Moeru: Gamabunta, you sure have a soft spot for kids, mhm~?**  
 **Toad Boss: As if you're one to talk. Kid, I officially accept you as my subordinate. I'll show you how the moral code works in this world.**  
 **me: Moeru! Let's not fall behind these guys! Let's show them how cool we are!**  
 **Moeru: Consider it done!**

  
With his sword, Toad Boss managed to cut off Shukaku's arm, and as he fell, everything around shook. Things are clearly not going to be easy around.  
To show off, I and Moeru used a strong Wind-Fire combo, managing to engulf Shukaku in the prison, but only managing to cut off his tail, before it vanished.

  
**me: HELL YES!**  
**Moeru: Good one, missy.**  
  
  
Fist-pumping the air, we see from the top of Shukaku's head that Gaara somehow emerged with his upper-half of his body, saying how this is a reward for entertaining him.

Toad Boss told us that the rings around Gaara's eyes are because of the Raccoon Monster's, Shukaku's, fault, since if the medium falls asleep, the monster eats away his personality, so the lack of sleep makes him clearly unstable.  
The problem is, Gaara made himself fall asleep, completely letting the Tanuki take over him, and the first thing it did was let out another shrill laugh.

  
**Shukaku: I'm finally free!!!! And I found someone to kill!**

  
As Shukaku threw a strong wind attack at them, Toad Boss parried them with some water jutsu, making everything around the kids' place rain.  
The Tanuki fired some wind bullets at them again, and Toad Boss managed to parry most of them, but two, so I and Moeru created a strong Earth wall to counter the last attacks.

Shukaku started cheering, thinking he got us, but it was no use.  
Gamabunta told us that the only way to win this was to wake Gaara up, so since Moeru has claws and fangs, she managed to hold down Shukaku as Gamabunta jumped around, allowing Naruto to get on its head and wake the red-head up.  
Unfortunately, Gaara was still very much pissy, saying how he will destroy us. The problem was that Moeru wasn't a Jinchuriki, and Shukaku was quickly overpowering us, so I had to keep yelling at Naruto to do something, as I did a few jutsus to ensure a better grip on the Tanuki monster.  
  
This made Naruto lend some of the Kyubi's chakra, allowing him to head-butt Gaara, both of them bleeding, and truly waking him up this time, making the Shukaku crumble to bits of sand on the ground.  
As they fell, I jumped from Moeru's head, telling her to return. The blond idiot punched the red-head one more time, before they both got on the grass.  
Naruto seemed almost unconscious, while Gaara was laying there, glaring at him.  
This thankfully made the sand grip on Sakura get released, and yet, Naruto started crawling on the ground like a worm, trying to get to the other Jinchuriki.

  
**me: It's okay, Gaara. It's over. There's no more need to fight.  
Gaara: Don't get near me!  
Naruto: The pain of being alone...Is completely out of this world, isn't it? I don't know why, but I understand you so much that it hurts. But I have important people now, and I won't let you harm them, even if I have to kill you!**  
**Gaara: Why?...Why can you do this for strangers?**  
**me: Because these strangers became our family. We didn't have a family and the village shunned us and bullied us, even though we didn't do anything wrong. All we did was live and survive in this world full of hatred. We wanted to be acknowledged as strong ninjas, not as monsters. We understand you, Gaara.**  
 **Naruto: She is right....The loneliness...That hell...They saved me and acknowledged my existence. They are important to me, that's why.**  
 **Sasuke: You can stop now, Naruto. Sakura's fine. He must be out of chakra too, since the sand released her.**  
 **Naruto:I see...*fainted***

  
Sighing, I kneel in front of Gaara, resting his head on my lap, using my healing jutsu to heal the wound on his head.

  
**me: I am not a Jinchuriki like you and Naruto, but my clan was feared in the village for the immense and secret powers it withheld. They outcasted themselves, in fear of being seen as threats, so much that they somehow were all killed without anyone finding out the truth about their powers. All this time...I was like you. I pretended to care about the people surrounding me since that's what everyone kept telling me that I should do, but I knew I what was important- Strength, not petty emotions.**  
**Gaara: What do you mean...?**  
 **me: I graduated at 8 and since then I've been working either alone, with various teachers or with random teams, and yet, nobody seemed important to me. Even if they died, they'd all be replaced the next day, as if nothing happened. That is...Until I met Kakashi-senpai and I became part of Team 7...Along with Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. I don't want to admit it, but they were the ones who made me understand what friendship truly meant, not just in theory, but in my heart as well.**  
 **Gaara: They...Are yours friends, then?**  
 **me: *nods* They are. I didn't want to fight you. You are like us...You need someone to be there for you, but you have to let them help you, not fear you. I thought loneliness and sorrow was my destiny, but as I told Hyuga Neji in the preliminaries, fate is never set in stone. you can change yourself... I have faith in you.**  
 **Gaara: Are you...My friend?**  
 **me: I am, if you want me to be. So are Temari and Kankuro...Hell, even Naruto. Just, let us reach out to you.**

  
Just them, his siblings appeared next to him, ready to fight, but Gaara stopped them, telling them it's no use.

  
**Gaara: Then...What did you want to show me before?**  
 **me: Will you let me show you?**  
  
  
He looked deep into my eyes, an expression of hurt that wanted to redeem itself highlighted in his teal eyes as he nodded, which made me grin. I helped him stand up, despite being wobbly myself, and extended his arms in front of himself.  
He looked at me like a confused puppy, but before he could say anything else, I step between his arms, gently guiding them around me, them put one arm on his back, and another on his head, putting it on the crook on my neck, petting his hair.

  
**me: Do you feel this warmth, Gaara? This is friendship. This warmth is the cure to any heart wound. Right here, whenever you feel pain, ask for a hug. And if I'm not there, I'm sure Temari and Kankuro will be more than happy to help...After all, they are your siblings and they love you very much.**  
**Gaara: You think so?**  
 **me: Absolutely. They came here trying to protect you, despite being injured themselves. Anyone else would have left, but they didn't.**  
 **Gaara: I see...**  
 **me: Take care, Gaara, and know that we will see each other soon, okay? I wish to see you in a much better state than you are now.**  
  
He could only nod his pretty head, still looking at me in wonder, trying to comprehend my words as I kissed his forehead. A small blush formed on his cheeks, looking confused at me, not understanding the weird gesture.

  
**me: *winks* That is a bit more special, okay? Let that remain our little secret.  
Gaara: O-Okay.**

  
Slowly letting him go from the embrace, I glare at Kankuro as hard as I could, still holding a protective grip on the red-head.

  
**me: Listen here, Kankuro, and listen clearly, 'cause if I hear you misbehaved, I am going to burn you alive.**  
**Kankuro: *eye twitch* What do you want?**  
 **me: Brothers usually form a stronger bond between themselves, so that's why, I want you to be the one to take _VERY_ good care of Gaara, capiche? If I hear otherwise...*smirks* I don't think you want to go against my wrath, now, do you... _Neko-chan_ ~?**  
 **Kankuro: *scowls* I hate you.**  
 **me: You don't.**  
 **Temari: *small smile* He doesn't. Thank you, Kitsune.**  
 **me: Take care of yourselves, guys. In the end, you only have each other.**  
 **Temari: *nods* I know.**

  
Letting Kankuro help Gaara stand, the Sand Siblings depart from this place, letting the rest of us get back to the destroyed village, only to hear that Orochimaru managed to kill the Hokage, which came as a horrible blow to everyone, especially little Konohamaru, since he was his grandpa.

The next day the skies were dark and we all met up, dressed in black, to attend our beloved Hokage's funeral. It was a horrible sight, frankly, everyone grieving and even the sky weeping for the loss.  
Everyone started putting a white flower at his grave and Konohamaru was sobbing so badly that I couldn't help but get down and hug him, letting him cry in my embrace. Iruka-sensei was the same, and knowing they had a stronger bond with each other, I pass the kid to his teacher, knowing it would be better for both of them.

This only made me remember the gorgeous, innocent times when there was no fighting, when the Hokage would come and drink tea with me at our favourite tea-shop, when he let me make him a flower-crown, and hell, even when he kept ruffling my hair, calling me a sneaky fox for getting out of boring classes to train with the stronger ones.

A ninja must never show their emotions, they say... And yet, the whole sight brightened as soon as we all understood the bright reason for him sacrificing himself for us, and the sun's rays gorgeously shone on his picture, making everyone smile, grateful at being a villager of Konohagakure and having had such an amazing Leader.  


__**Hokage-sama . . . Sandaime . . .  
                               
                                             . . . We thank you for teaching us the Will of Fire!**


	8. Grave Encounters

~~~~

Not long passed and Kakashi-senpai asked to meet me at a sweets shop, for some reason-  
Reason that was obvious at first glance, once the Akatsuki cloaks appeared inside the shop, which made me bite my lip to hide my concern.  
Akatsuki isn't a well-known organisation and I'd like to keep my affiliation with them a secret for as long as possible.  
  
**me: So, who else are we waiting for?**  
**Kakashi: Eh, I just asked Sasuke to tag along.**  
 **me: S-Sasuke...Huh? Say, Senpai, will you teach me the Chidori too? I think it's only fair.**  
 **Kakashi: Well, if your chakra nature allows you, then sure, I guess.**  
 **me: Sounds like a plan.**  
 **Asuma: Oi, Kakashi.**  
 **Kakashi: Ah, hello Asuma. And Kurenai too~!**  
 **Kurenai: Idiot, I'm just here 'cause Anko asked for some dangos.**  
 **Asuma: What are you doing here?**  
 **Kakashi: *glances subtly at the shop* Just waiting for Sasuke.**  
 **Sasuke: What is it, Kakashi?... I hate sweets.**  
 **Kakashi: Is that so?**

 

Pretty easily, Kakashi made Sasuke go train and urged me to go with him somewhere- Which proved to be the two rouge-nins that I was closest to, fighting against Kurenai and Asuma.  
I could feel the breath hitch in my throat as I saw the sight in front of me, then Kakashi used a water jutsu to counter Kisame's attack against Asuma, then his clone put his kunai against Itachi's throat.

**_What am I supposed to do...?_ **

They did some small talk that acknowledged each-others' achievements, but as Kisame wanted to fight Kakashi, Itachi stopped him, since a fight would be unnecessary.  
Even so, Itachi started a fight and stabbed Kakashi's water clone, then another came from underwater and took Kurenai to safety, making Asuma jump after them.

  
**me: KAKASHI, STOP FIGHTING! DON'T LOOK AT HIS EYES!**  
**Uchiha: I will show you the true Uchiha kekkei genkai.**  
 **Kakashi: Don't open your eyes.**  
 **Itachi: It is true, you can resist my Mangekyo a little with your Sharingan. However, you cannot counter my Special Jutsu, Tsukuyomi. Only an Uchiha can.**  
 **Kakashi: Sasuke...*gasps***  
 **me: KAKASHI!**

  
I tried to jump on the water to save him, since I know how horrible the Tsukuyomi could be, but I was stopped by Kisame who lunged at me with his sword.

  
**me: Kisa...?!**  
**Kisame: *grins* I'm sorry, missy, but I can't let you interfere with Itachi-san's work.**  
 **me: But, Kisame! He's torturing him!**  
 **Kisame: You will see much worse when you come with us.**  
 **me: But...But...! KAKASHI, WAKE UP!**

  
I took out my sword, fighting the legendary Kisame as best as I could, already knowing many of his moves and managing to counter them quite well, and with a diversion, I managed to jump in the water, between Itachi and Kakashi, holding him as he fell.

  
**me: Don't open your eyes, no matter what! Kakashi, are you alright?**  
**Kisame: Aww, Kakashi, did you suffer a mental collapse? Then again, Itachi, it's dangerous to over-use your eyes.**  
 **Kakashi: Are you after Sasuke?**  
 **Itachi: No. We're after the Fourth's legacy.**  
 **Kakashi: Naruto...?**  
 **me: Itachi...**  
 **Kakashi: Are you after the Kyubi inside Naruto? The name of your organisation...Akatsuki?**  
 **me: Wh-what?!**  
 **Kurenai: Akatsuki?**  
 **Itachi: Kisame, we're going to take Kakashi for a while.**

 

But before Kisame could attack again, I prepared my katana to fight, standing protectively in front of Kakashi, only to have Gai appear out of nowhere and parry the Shark's attack.

  
**Gai: I am the Handsome Noble Blue Beast, Maito Gai!**  
**Kisame: Look at yourself before you speak...Perhaps you meant to say a dodo.**  
 **me: *bites lip* *mutters* Something tells me Kisame looks better than him...**  
 **Itachi: Do not underestimate him.**  
 **Gai: He hurt Kakashi this much...**

  
Thankfully, Gai is already very familiar with the Sharingan and how to counter it and told the other two how to fight him, so Kurenai was to get Kakashi to the Hospital while we were to fight.

  
**Itachi: Let's stop. We didn't come here to start a war.  
Kisame: That's unfortunate, I was getting excited. Very well.**

  
And in the blink of an eye, they disappeared, leaving us there, looking awestruck. I sighed in relief and followed the Jonins to a a safe room where we took care of Kakashi. In the meantime, we were to keep everything a secret since Sasuke came in the room, but of course, someone had to burst in the room and say EXACTLY what was supposed to be left unsaid.  
_**"Itachi"**_ and _**"after Naruto"**_.  
Great job, Aoba...  
Gai facepalmed and Kurenai called him and idiot as Sasuke darted away to find him, which made me bite my lip and run after Sasuke, following him outside of the village, after Jiraiya and Naruto, in the lodging town.

By the time we arrived to the proper place, however, Naruto was already next to Kisame and Itachi, foolishly having opened the door of his hotel room and clearly, the older Uchiha sensed our presence.

  
**Itachi: Sasuke.**  
 **Sasuke: Uchiha Itachi.**  
 **Naruto: Uchiha Itachi?!**  
 **Kisame: The Sharingan much similar to yours. Who is he?**  
 **Itachi: My little brother.**  
 **Kisame: I heard the entire Uchiha clan was killed...By you.**  
 **Sasuke: Uchiha Itachi, I'm going to kill you!**  
 **me: Sasuke, don't try to fight him! You can't win!**  
 **Sasuke: No. Like you said, I hated you, detested you, and just to kill you, I've SURVIVED! I WILL KILL YOU!**  
 **me: SASUKE, NO!**  


With that, he created the most powerful Chidori so far, and with a roar of anger, he charged at his elder brother, who stopped him with just a flick of his hand, gripping Sasuke's wrist and breaking it in one swift move.  
Naruto tried to summon the Kyubi's chakra and summon Toad boss, but Kisame used the Samehada to stop him from trying anything.

Kisame tried to cut Naruto's legs, but I lunged at him with my katana, parrying every attack he tried to pull on us, until Jiraiya finally arrived, boasting about him and women, making me sweatdrop at how petty he is.

Fortunately, after a great fight between the white-haired Sannin and the two Akatsuki, they ran away, Gai came over to take Sasuke to the hospital as well, and I stood by Kakashi's side, trying to think of my next move.  
Jiraiya wants to get Tsunade to be our 5th Hokage, but after that, what is it to be done? Should I go? Perhaps this way I can prove my worth to her and get away with some stuff, just like I did with the 3rd. I'm pretty good with getting under people's skins, after all and I have my way with words.   
**_So then..._**

When am I to finally go train? Should I just follow Naruto's steps, so I can leave when he does? Perhaps it would be less suspicious or something.  
Then again, after today, something tells me that Sasuke is going to run to that bastard, Orochimaru, despite everything that he's done to us.  
The great thing would be that Tsunade is Legendary for being the best at Medical Ninjutsu, so Sakura could learn a lot from her...And hell, maybe even I could actually start learning from her. I really should start doing something more exciting.

After I left the Akatsuki, just before the Chunin exam, everything has been so monotonous and boring...Nothing interesting at training, no new, particularly powerful and difficult jutsus...Just, everything plain and boring that everyone knows.  
No, I must leave soon, before I fall into platitude and curse myself for being a nobody with average powers.  
And to be hair...I quite miss using my powers...I haven't done a Chakra Fox in much too long.  
_**Hmm...**_

Before I leave with Jiraiya and Naruto, there is something I have to do, and that is to thoroughly search the Uchiha compound for any possible secret that Itachi might have left. Clearly, after the massacre, nobody wanted to go around that place anymore, in fear and horror at the atrocities that happened there, so there won't be much changed from before Itachi left the place.  
Maybe, just maybe, there is going to be some evidence to support and save my old friend.

I started my search right away, from outside, not leaving any pebble or leaf unturned, then in every room, under any carpet, vase, until I finally got to what appeared to be Itachi's room and what I found there was an outright gold-mine.  
Just under his neatly laid futon, there was a small trapdoor that opened and revealed a single scroll tied with a red ribbon.  
As I untied it, reading the black cursive handwriting, I immediately knew it was Itachi's Will,his last thoughts as a Leaf Ninja, before turning rogue, all his regrets and wishes for Sasuke to grow into a hero.  
The real reason for the massacre was far more terrible than we could have imagined and that blasted Danzo is the worst devil out of all, even worse than Orochimaru, for taking Shisui's eye and forcing the two friends to behave the way they did.

_**Konoha...The Uchihas...You both messed up the bright fate of three talented children** _

Sighing, I stealthily go out of the village and summon Moeru so I can get to Amegakure faster and talk to the dark haired man who must have returned by now.  
I gave the others the excuse that I was on a mission and that I was only passing by, tired and in need of rest and went to mine and Itachi's room, waiting for him to come, as I nervously gripped on the scroll, under the blanket.  


**Itachi: Why have you come?**  
**me: Why did you kill the Uchihas?**  
 **Itachi: Haven't we gone through this conversation before?**  
 **me: Tell me.**  
 **Itachi: You know something.**  
 **me: I want to see if it's true or not.**  
 **Itachi: What information did you acquire?**  
 **me: Why did you kill them?**  
 **Itachi: I hated them.**  
 **me: Liar. Try again.**  
 **Itachi: In essence, it is not a lie.**  
 **me: What was the deeper reason?**  
 **Itachi: I had to kill them.**  
 **me: They planned to do something that went against your beliefs. What was it?**  
 **Itachi: Can you guess?**  
 **me: What did they want to attack?**  
 **Itachi: *closes his eyes* Konohagakure.**  
 **me: *raises eyebrow* Why would a Konoha noble family want to destroy its own village?**  
 **Itachi: Do you know the story of how the village was formed?**  
 **me: The one with Uchiha Madara and The First and The Second Hokage?**  
 **Itachi: That one.**  
 **me: Most of it, yes. What about it?**  
 **Itachi: The Second Hokage made it a law to move the Uchihas at the suburbs of the village, making them the Police Force. This was, however, with a hidden reason, which was to protect the village against a subdued threat. Uchiha Madara wanted to become Hokage, but wasn't allowed to, and with The Second always suspicious of him, things only got worse.**  
 **me: And you mean to say that this hatred of your family went down for so many years?**  
 **Itachi: It seems that way.**  
 **me: So you killed them to protect the village.**  
**Itachi: There should have been another way. Maybe there was, but to this day, I still cannot see it.**  
 **me: You loved the village and Sasuke so much, you chose to sacrifice your own freedom to save them from a far greater evil. That's pitiful. *sighs* What about Shisui? Why did he die?**  
 **Itachi: Shisui told The Third that he will use his Mangekyo on the Uchihas to stop them from attempting to go along with the coup d'etat. Unfortunately, Danzo had other plans and made sure Shisui's plan wouldn't succeed.**  
 **me: Danzo stole his eye and the other...He gave it to you, didn't he?**  
 **Itachi: You went to my home, did you not?**  
 **me: *nods* I did. I wanted to save you, Itachi. Innocent or not, your heart lays in Konohagakure, with Sasuke.**  
 **Itachi: Is there any other reason for this foolishness?**  
 **me: I...Inari Okami foresaw a war and not just any ordinary, petty war, but another Great Shinobi War. She said it will be far worse than the others, but she doesn't know any details or...Anything else, for the matter. I fear for our village the same way you did, years ago.**  
 **Itachi: You think you can just bring me in to save your village with a simple confession? You think anyone would believe the words of a criminal?**  
 **me: *grins* It's OUR village, not mine alone, and besides, this scroll here makes much more sense than any other theory about it.**  
 **Itachi: Kitsune Kasai, don't even dare think about it. I have my own goal to achieve.**  
 **me: What? Self-sacrifice? That's not a goal, that's a death sentence!**  
 **Itachi: Even if things weren't as complicated as they are, I would still not last for long. I have an incurable pulmonary disease that-**  
 **me: Stop right there. I don't know what kind of doctors you went to, but we are trying to get Tsunade to become out Fifth Hokage and if that happens, there is no illness she cannot cure. Besides, I have my own ways of making a person like me.**  
 **Itachi: You think your childish antics would work in the harsh world of a grown-up?**  
 **me: I think that as long as I try, I can get much farther than if I didn't even try.**  
 **Itachi: Do as you wish, but remember that not everyone's thoughts can be so easily bent to your advantage.**  
 **me: *shrugs* Remains to be seen. After all...*winks* I think I got pretty far with you.**  
 **Itachi: What-**  
 **me: No time to waste! Now that I know about your disease, I have a much stronger motivation to bring Tsunade back to our village! Hell yes!**  
 **Itachi: *sighs* You're hopeless.**  
 **me: You are no different~!**

  
With a close-eyed smile, I jump out of the window and summon Moeru once again, returning home and preparing for a long journey, seeking the Slug-Princess, Tsunade.

The trip was filled with many interesting things, much like Jiraiya's lecherous behaviour or him teaching us how to do the Rasengan, which apparently is The Fourth's invented jutsu. It's rather complex and difficult to master, but its power can be beyond any bounds we can dream of and it's a definite must-learn!  
It took a lot of failures and tries, but by the time we finally got to see Tsunade, both I and Naruto got quite close to doing a decent Rasengan.

That night, we went into a pub, only to see Jiraiya get all-shocked and point at a blonde, tipsy woman, saying "Tsunade!", only for her to call out his name, rather confused.

We sat down opposite of her and her assistant and enjoyed a good drink and food. Then, we found out she met Orochimaru and we told her we needed her to be the new Hokage, while starting a card game. Apparently Naruto had no idea about this, since he chocked on his food. He didn't even know who Orochimaru is, which is rather shocking...  
As soon the blonde heard Naruto's whole name, her eyes widened and probably realised he was the famous Kyubi boi, but Naruto only started making a fool of himself, as usual, making Tsunade speak ill of her predecessors and the title of Hokage, which in turn got Naruto to try to lunge at her.

The result of this day was that Tsunade stooped to his level and went outside, beating Naruto with only one finger, which left me awestruck-  
I absolutely _**N E E D**_ to learn how to use such superhuman strength!

Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage seemed to remind her of some old, painful memories, which gave Naruto enough time to lunge at him with a weak Rasengan.

Then, they bet that he won't be able to master it in one week- Which is going to be interesting, since she is known to be the Legendary Loser. A horrible gambler, really.

The week passed by faster than the blink of an eye, but to our shock, Tsunade poisoned Jiraiya and went to meet up with Orochimaru, who apparently promised to revive her lover and younger brother, which seems like a tempting offer for anyone, especially her, who suffered so much for so long.

Thankfully, after fighting against Kabuto and Orochimaru, we managed to save the blonde woman and she got over her fear of blood, totally pulverising her enemies in the process and giving Naruto her necklace, accepting the title of Hokage, and acknowledging our strengths and efforts- Which is exactly what I needed!  
On our way back to Konoha, I told her about what happened in some of my missions and my poor medical knowledge, asking her for proper training in that field and that strength one, to which she only smirked and ruffled my hair, saying it's going to be one hell of a training to come.

The whole time I spent next to Kakashi-senpai, waiting for Tsunade to take care of all trivialities around until she was finally able to come to the hospital, easily healing both Sasuke and Kakashi...But for Lee, it was a far worse problem, seeing that he was extremely hurt and either he quits being a ninja, or he chooses to undergo a high-risk surgery with only 50% win chance at most.  
_Poor Lee..._ He trained and struggled the most out of everyone, and yet, he's still the one to suffer the most.

 _**Life is an ironic and cruel mistress.** _  


Until Sasuke recovered completely, I took the liberty of following Tsunade every time she'd take a break from her Hokage duties and study to make sure Lee's surgery will have a much higher win rate, even showing me the more advanced part of healing while in the Hospital and so on.

Now, however, I have to prepare for the more important parts-  


_**1) Tell Tsunade about my plan**_  
  
_**2) Finally leave the village to train with the Akatsuki**_  


Should be easy enough, to say the least.

_**That is...** _

If Sasuke wasn't kidnapped.  
Or better said, if he hadn't left the village to pursue Orochimaru.


End file.
